Make believe you're an old fashion tobacco salesman .....

[T206DK]

I bet they had ads that appealed to all types of tobacco users. Undoubtedly, there were areas in the country were chewing was more popular than smoking, and areas where pipes were used more frequently.

[Abravefan11]

Originally Posted by T206DK

I bet they had ads that appealed to all types of tobacco users. Undoubtedly, there were areas in the country were chewing was more popular than smoking, and areas where pipes were used more frequently.

I have not found any advertisements for Ty Cobb tobacco in any newspapers outside of Georgia.

The Macon Telegraph ran several small ad lines like the one's pictured below from Feb 8th - Mar 8th 1910








The Augusta Chronicle ran the below ad every Sunday for four consecutive weeks from Feb 20 - Mar 13. It's the only paper I have found this ad to appear in.




Several newspapers outside the state of Georgia picked up on the story of Cobb having a tobacco named after him and all said the following:




The ads do mention pipe several times and the Augusta Chronicle ad calls it "Granulated Cut Plug Smoking Tobacco."

This article was in the May 10, 1910 Ann Arbor News and tells you why Cobb was King of the Smoking Tobacco World.

[Potomac Yank]

Chewing tobacco (also known as chew or chaw) refers to a form of smokeless tobacco furnished as long strands of whole leaves and consumed by placing a portion of the tobacco between the cheek and gum or teeth and chewing. Unlike dipping tobacco, it isn't ground and must be mechanically crushed with the teeth to release flavour and nicotine. Unwanted juices are then expectorated. Historically, chewing tobacco was the most prevalent form of tobacco use in the United States until it was overtaken by cigarette smoking in the early 20th Century. Tobacco in this form is now largely confined to rural and especially Southern areas of the United States.

*

The question is not whether Cobb smoked or chewed .....

The question is ...

Would YOU, as part of YOUR marketing.

Put a Ty Cobb card saying ...

Ty Cobb
King of the
Smoking
Tobacco
World!

In a Ty Cobb granulated Cut Plug Tin? ... knowing that Cut Plug is chewing tobacco ... NOT smoking tobacco?

[Abravefan11]

No Joe I would not market the tobacco that way but F.R. Penn and Cobb did do that. Everything I have seen from the cards to the ads emphasize smoking the Ty Cobb brand tobacco.

[T206DK]

I think you might be reading too much in to the smoking part of the phrase on the card. I don't think it's a stretch to say that the folks ate ATC would put that on the card regardless of what type of tobacco it was distributed with. Even the ad Tim just posted again basically says that Ty Cobb tobacco is "granulated cut plug smoking tobacco" The fact that some people may have chewed it probably didn't matter a bit to the marketing execs at ATC. Capitalize on the name of a star baseball player from Georgia in order to sell tobacco product. Smoking was becoming fashionable and more popular as Potomacyanks post states. in 1900 over 3.5 billion cigarettes were sold and over 6 billion cigars ....Duke was selling 90% of the cigarettes made at this time. I wonder if ATC had plans for naming any other brands after players ? Obviously, Ty Cobb was not the only tobacco user playing baseball at the time. with the impending break up of ATC, I doubt they did though.

here's some interesting info on the break up of ATC in May of 1911

1911-05-29: SCOTUS: "Trustbusters" break up American Tobacco Co. US Supreme Court dissolves Duke's trust as a monopoly and in violation of the Sherman Anti-Trust Act (1890). The major companies to emerge are: American Tobacco Co., R.J. Reynolds, Liggett & Myers Tobacco Company (Durham, NC), Lorillard and British-American Tobacco (BAT). RJ Reynolds says, "Now watch me give Buck Duke hell." BAT is listed on the London Stock Exchange.
Liggett & Myers was given about 28 per cent of the cigarette market:
Piedmont
Fatima
American Beauty
Home Run
Imperiales
Coupon
King Bee
Fatima (the only 15 Turkish blend
and the cheap straight domestic brands.


P. Lorillard received 15 per cent of the nation's business:
Helmar
Egyptian Deities
Turkish Trophies
Murad
Mogul
and all straight Turkish brands


American Tobacco retained 37 per cent of the market:
Pall Mall, its expensive all-Turkish brand, named for a fashionable London street in the 18th century where "pall-mall" (a precursor to croquet) was played.
Sweet Caporal
Hassan
Mecca


R. J. Reynolds received no cigarette line but was awarded 20 per cent of the plug trade.

[Potomac Yank]

Does it say:

"granulated cut plug smoking tobacco" on the Ty Cobb Cut Plug Tin?

[Abravefan11]

Originally Posted by Potomac Yank

Does it say:

"granulated cut plug smoking tobacco" on the Ty Cobb Cut Plug Tin?

No the Ty Cobb tin it doesn't include the word smoking.

However if you look at the Penn No.1 tin it says "No Better Smoking Tobacco Can Be Made" and below that "Chews Good Too."

It seems Penn was focused on marketing these two products to smokers first with chewers being a secondary thought.

[T206DK]

that does not mean that it's not the same product mentioned in the ads. where are the other tins or packs then ? where is there any evidence that ATC or someone made two types of Ty Cobb tins or packages ? Like I said in a prior post...if you gave my granfather or any of his old friends a tin of cut plug Ty Cobb tobacco they would not take a big chaw of it. My father said his dad never chewed tobacco at all ? He used to crumble the plugs of tobacco onto the countertop or a tray and would then roll several cigarettes by hand from it. The plugs were not moist like chewing tobacco. My dad used the word crumble quite specifically