I just picked up this 40”x30” porcelain sign... weighs a whopping 29lb…Cycle Cigarettes was originally one of the brands of the American Tobacco Company of Durham N.C, founded in 1890.…Tobacco historian Jon Canfield believes the Cycle Cigarettes brand started in 1895…Obviously American Tobacco employed the popularity of bicycling to promote their cigarettes…
In 1902, James Buchanan Duke, founder and president of American Tobacco…formed a joint venture with the British company “Imperial Tobacco Company”…to form the “British-American Tobacco Company Ltd.”…as seen marked on this sign… So the sign was likely made in England for one of the British-American Tobacco Company markets…Based on its large size I would speculate it was displayed in a prominent location where many would have seen it…
“Cycle Cigarettes” would have had a better sound bite than “Bicycle Cigarettes”…To promote an upscale image the cyclist wears respectable attire of knickers, argyle knee socks, a Norfolk jacket with vest, neck tie, and flat cap…I like the name Cycle in bold red over the three packs…makes it pop in person…and the illustration of the lit cigarette lower right with smoke wafting up…And to top it off I have a thing for green signs...
Someone at some point for some reason attached it to a wooden picture frame…which I’ve never seen done…I kind of thought I’d remove it once I got it…but now that I see it in person I think I’ll leave it…doesn’t hurt anything and looks kinda nice...at least my neighbor who knows nothing about antique signs thought so...
I’ve been collecting sports display antiques over 38 years s and never seen an example of this sign before…so I was v happy to add it to my collection…
