The Tobacco Collection spans the years 1828-1987, with the bulk of the items dating from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and contains material assembled by library staff related to the manufacturing, sale, and use of tobacco in the United States, particularly in the South. There are also items referring to tobacco cultivation and processing. Printed advertising predominates, but the contents also include items that are not paper products. Typical paper-based items include cigarette and cigar advertising trade cards of Duke Tobacco Co., Lorillard, Liggett and Myers, John Player and Sons, and various other American and British companies; tobacco advertisements by Krueger and Brown of N.Y.; and souvenir tobacco albums published by Allen & Ginter. Other forms of advertising in the collection include broadsides, pamphlets, books, leaflets, letters, envelopes, cigar and cigarette boxes and labels, cans, a plate, wrappers, labels, and catalogs. Images include birds, animals, battle scenes, and persons, including a series on "African Types." The bulk of the material dates from the later decades of the 19th century and the early 20th century but there are items dated earlier and later. The contents are primarily domestic, chiefly pertaining to business concerns in North Carolina and Virginia, but items from other countries are also included. Items are physically arranged by company name when known, otherwise by format. For easier searching, the descriptive finding aid is arranged in two alphabetical sections, by company name and by format.
