Object Details
sova.nmah.ac.0645
- Creator
- Brown and Williamson.
- Johnson, Virgil
- American Tobacco Company.
- Benson and Hedges.
- Philip Morris, Inc.
- Lorillard.
- Liggett & Myers Tobacco Company.
- Reynolds, R. J.
- Topic
- Packaging -- 1850-1900
- Packaging -- 20th century
- Tobacco -- 1850-2000
- Tobacco -- 20th century
- Cigarettes -- 1850-2000
- Cigarettes -- 20th century
- Provenance
- The collection was donated to the Archives Center of the National Museum of American History in July 1998, by Mr. Virgil Johnson, a resident of Alexandria, Virginia.
- The collection was donated to the Archives Center of the National Museum of American History in July 1998, by Mr. Virgil Johnson, a resident of Alexandria, Virginia.
- Creator
- Brown and Williamson.
- Johnson, Virgil
- American Tobacco Company.
- Benson and Hedges.
- Philip Morris, Inc.
- Lorillard.
- Liggett & Myers Tobacco Company.
- Reynolds, R. J.
- See more items in
- Virgil Johnson Collection of Cigarette Packages
- Summary
- As a teenager, Virgil Johnson [b.1918] became interested in the designs and symbols on cigarette packs like "Black Cat" and "White Roll", and he began actively collecting in the 1930s. His interest intensified during the 1940s when he was stationed in North Africa and across the Mediterranean region as a photographer with the U.S. Navy. Mr. Johnson collected cigarette packs for over fifty years, and was a member of the Cigarette Pack Collector's Association. Approximately 6000 cigarette packages, foreign and American, arranged in 24 albums. Manufacturers include names such as those shown below.
- Biographical / Historical
- As a teenager, Virgil Johnson [b.1918] became interested in the designs and symbols on cigarette packs like Black Cat and White Roll, and he began actively collecting in the 1930s. His interest intensified during the 1940s when he was stationed in North Africa and across the Mediterranean region as a photographer with the U.S. Navy. Mr. Johnson collected cigarette packs for over fifty years, and was a member of the Cigarette Pack Collector=s Association.
- Extent
- 25 Cubic feet (26 boxes)
- Date
- circa 1890-1997
- Archival Repository
- Archives Center, National Museum of American History
- Identifier
- NMAH.AC.0645
- Type
- Collection descriptions
- Archival materials
- Albums
- Citation
- Virgil Johnson Collection of Cigarette Packages, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
- Arrangement
- The collection is divided into 3 series. Series 1: Cigarette Packages Series 2: Articles and Other Publications About Tobacco Series 3: Books About Tobacco and Tobacco Collecting
- Processing Information
- Collection processed by Mimi Minnick, July 1998
- Rights
- Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
- Genre/Form
- Albums
- Scope and Contents
- The collection consists of approximately 6,000 cigarette packages, ca. 1890-1997, arranged in 24 albums. The cigarette packages offer a strong base for research into the categories of visual imagery created, associated with, and manipulated for the sale of tobacco products. Researchers interested in the history of design will also find these packages a useful source, as they reflect design modifications (in image, logo, typeface, and package features) over time for virtually every brand marketed in the U.S. and an enormous selection of those marketed overseas, by both U.S. and other global tobacco concerns. Series 3: BOOKS ABOUT TOBACCO AND TOBACCO COLLECTING These titles have been transferred to NMAH Library.
- Restrictions
- Collection is open for research.
- Separated Materials
- Thirty (30) empty wood, metal, and plastic cigarette packs are also part of the Virgil Johnson Collection. They are housed with the Consumer Culture Collections in the Cultural History Division (now Division of Cultural and Community Life) which also holds several dozen cigarette packs from the Walter Landor/Landor Associates Industrial Design Collection (NMAH.AC.0500).
NMAH.AC.0645
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep81f1b5b19-6b53-4b74-b6ee-a25c259175eb
NMAH.AC.0645
ACAH
- Record ID
- ebl-1562730435369-1562730435376-0
