Terence Mitchell collection of tobacco-related ephemera, 1880-1990

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Summary

Creator:
Mitchell, Terence
Abstract:
Terence Mitchell is a collector and expert on collectible cigarette cards. This collection contains a wide assortment of trading cards, collectible silks and fabrics, pins, and tobacco cartons and packs acquired by Mitchell. Most date to the early twentieth century.
Extent:
10.0 Linear Feet (14 boxes)
Language:
Materials in English
Collection ID:
RL.11202

Background

Scope and content:

Collection consists of thousands of cigarette, tobacco, tea, and foodstuffs trading cards, arranged by topic or set; hundreds of silks, blankets, and pins also distributed as collectibles through packages of tobacco; and about fifty original packages and tins of tobacco products, dating from the late nineteenth to late twentieth century. Mitchell created and accumulated substantial documentation of the items in this collection; that description has been included when available.

The largest series is the Trading Cards, which largely date from the twentieth century and include both American and international sets. This series also contains a sampling of nineteenth century cards from companies such as Allen and Ginter; W. Duke, Sons and Co.; Kinney Bros.; the American Tobacco Co.; Gail and Ax; P. Lorillard Co.; and others. There is typically one card from a series and they have not been sorted or further described.

The rest of the Trading Card series is arranged by card set, including sets from tobacco companies (including Will's Cigarettes, Ardath, Barratt and Co.; Gallaher Ltd.; Sarony and Co.; John Player and Sons; Turkish Tropies; Hassan; Mills Filtertips; Godfrey Phillips; Stroller's Cigarettes; Carreras; and others), tobacco monopolies (like the Imperial Tobacco Co. (of Great Britain and Ireland) Ltd.; American Tobacco Co.; and others), and other trading card sets from other brands and products (such as Brooke Bond Tea; Hoadley's Chocolates; Stamina Clothing; Shell Corp.; Nabisco; Sanitarium Foods; and Arm and Hammer). These came pre-sorted by Mitchell into various topical categories, which have been retained.

The second series encompasses the other formats of tobacco collectibles acquired by Mitchell, and include silks, blankets/flannels, and pins. These are arranged according to their S and B numbers, as initially cataloged by Jefferson Burdick.

The third series contains original Tobacco Tins and Packages, with assorted tobacco products including cigarettes, cigars, plug tobacco, and other related products from various brands and companies. These date from both the nineteenth and twentieth century.

Biographical / historical:

Terence Mitchell is a card collector and co-author of American Tobacco Cards: Price Guide and Checklist, published by Tuff Stuff Publications, 1999.

The cards in this collection include both nineteenth and twentieth century card sets, many of which were classified as N (for Nineteenth Century) or T (for Twentieth Century) cards by Jefferson Burdick in his foundational work on card collecting, American Card Catalog (published 1951). There are hundreds of different N card series from numerous tobacco companies; only a small selection of examples are included in this collection. The T card series includes Premium Cards (T1-T16); Insert Cards (T25-T139); and Carton Panels (T175-T177). T numbers have been included if provided by Mitchell.

Acquisition information:
The Terence Mitchell Collection of Tobacco-Related Ephemera was received by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book Manuscript Library as a gift in 2015.
Processing information:

Processed by Ben Saalfeld, Leslie Hayes, and Meghan Lyon, May 2016.

Accessions described in this collection guide: 2015-0193

Arrangement:

Materials are arranged by format, and then according to Mitchell's topical organizational scheme.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Contents

Using These Materials

Using These Materials Links:

Using These Materials

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Researchers must register and agree to copyright and privacy laws before using this collection.

All or portions of this collection may be housed off-site in Duke University's Library Service Center. The library may require up to 48 hours to retrieve these materials for research use.

Please contact Research Services staff before visiting the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library to use this collection.

Terms of access:

The copyright interests in this collection have not been transferred to Duke University. For more information, consult the copyright section of the Regulations and Procedures of the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library.

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Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Terence Mitchell Collection of Tobacco-Related Ephemera, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.