"The Tobacco World"

[woodsroad]

"The Tobacco World" was a trade magazine that debuted in 1881. There are quite a few issues from the early 1900's available for reading or downloading online at https://archive.org/search.php?query=%22The%20tobacco%20world%22. The ads are fantastic, and harken back to an era that shall never be repeated...

 

[ghost]

Excellent find! It'll be fun to sift through these, thanks!

 

[woodsroad]

I wish that the digitized copy quality was a bit better, but it is still very readable. Amazing to see the level of commerce and trade in tobacco at the turn of the century.
If I could go back in time, 1900 would be near the top of my list of choices

 

[sablebrush52]

This is a terrific link. I've been on the site before, but I didn't think to look for this trade journal here. Thanks!

 

[woodsroad]

Sablebrush, I live about an hour north of where this magazine was published in Philadelphia, and at one time, this was a major cigar producing area. There are still many, many old cigar factory buildings here in upper Bucks County, PA, but I had no idea about the level of trade in tobacco that went on in Philadelphia itself. Several of the businesses advertised were within a couple of blocks of one of the places that I lived in Philly in the 80's and 90's. Levi Garrett was just up the block from my apartment on North 3'd St. near Arch, but so many other leaf dealers and manufacturer's were around that part of Old City Philadelphia, too.
For S&G's, try Street View Googling some of those old addresses. A lot of the buildings are still there.

 

[reichenbach]

This is awesome. I also can't wait to to peruse through these.

 

[vlodko]

Great finding! Thank you very much!

 

[misterlowercase]

Great find!
Can't wait to dive in.
Thanks for linking to the index page,

there's quite a few issues to go through,

cool beans mang!

:!:

 

[kcghost]

That is an amazing find!!

 

[woodsroad]

Gigger, as I said 11 months ago here, I lived for a year in the neighborhood where many of the these leaf dealers and other advertisers were at the time. This is where The Betsy Ross House, Elfreth's Alley and Franklin's print shop are. It is three blocks from Independence Hall. It's an area that was settled in the 1600's, but pretty much demolished in the 1850's to make way for 3 and 4 story factory buildings. I lived there in 1985, and the area was pretty much where old businesses went to die. But there were also some holdouts, family businesses in the 4th or 5th generation. There was still a shop that made saddles and harnesses, Levi Garrett was there, but until I looked at The Tobacco World, I had no idea that Third Street was a hub for leaf dealers back in the day.
I smoked a pipe back then, but didn't care for tobacco much.

 

[lestrout]

Dan - hope you meet William Serad at Morley's - he's quite into Philadelphia history. Terrence Harris is very much into history, predominantly European. I'd like to sit in to soak up your conversation when you test them on your findings of Philadelphia tobbaciana.
hp

les

 

[woodsroad]

Les, I'd love to see a time lapse of North Third St. from pre-European to today.