Back in the day otc prices . First blends . Reminiscing

Ruffinogold

I can remember smoking certain OTC blends in the late 70's and forward . Some were so good , its just crazy and not fair , I swear . Anyway , I remember the blends and what they tasted like and i even have some old blends stashed .. but  .. what I cant remember is the prices . Sometimes I think I remember the prices but then I think  .. oh , theres no way it was that cheap 

For example a pouch of Middletons Cherry blend or say one of the Kentucky Club .... Im pretty sure it didnt cost a dollar [ late late 70's ] . Im thinking 79 or 89 cents . Can that be right ?! I honestly don't remember prices . I can remember otc prices , say back to 2000 but it starts getting foggy after that . I paid 2.19 for a pouch/box of Middletons cherry in 2000 . I remember . I had a pipe shop in the 90s , so I can only think wholesale for that time period and I didnt carry otc stuff in the shop because I had either a Walgreen or Eckard drug store 100 yards away and figured they had that covered so I carried bulk and tins . Anyway , for some reason 79 cents stands out in my head . I dont remember much of the 80's other than I hated the music and I had plenty of money and didnt pay attention to prices of tobacco like I did in the 70's . I was a kid in the eary 70's and a teenager toward the end of the 70's and I didnt have much money back then . I lived in the sticks and buying tobacco was a stressful expensive for a 14 year old kid , lol

Btw , did any of you guys smoke Kentucky Club continental . Man , it was killer . If you ever happen across a tub of that and dont want it [ because youre nuts ] , shoot me a message and Id love to snag it !!! I bug the pipestud guy every so often to see if he has any and Ive had no luck 

My first blend I ever smoked was Argosy . It was a very simple mild all black cavendish . Ill never forget lighting it up and just losing my mind ! My second blend was London Dock and I thought that was a trip , because it was . The next blend I bought was Edgeworth Ready Rub and I really loved it . I didnt get to the Edgeworth Slices till years later because I thought . why do I want it in slices ,  lol . Turns out that was the greatest blend Ill ever smoke .

Sometimes I ramble 

KA9FFJ

Yep @Ruffinogold, I can relate. Started in '67, and I still keep Half&Half, Flying Dutchman, etc., when I'm feeling nostalgic. 
Blend selections were a lot easier back then, especially if you stuck to the local drug store. 
Appreciate the post brother...

motie2

In the late 1970s, the cost of tobacco pouches like Middleton’s Cherry Blend, Kentucky Club, and Sir Walter Raleigh varied based on several factors including location, retailer, and specific packaging size.

Middleton’s Cherry Blend: While exact prices from the late 1970s are not directly stated, it’s noted that by the early 1980s, these blends, including Middleton’s, were commonly found in grocery stores for about a dollar. This suggests that in the late 1970s, a pouch might have been slightly less, perhaps around 75 cents to $1.00.

Kentucky Club: Similar to Middleton’s Cherry Blend, Kentucky Club was among the blends available in drugstores during this era. With the trend of these tobaccos increasing from a quarter in the 1960s to around a dollar by the late 1970s or early 1980s, we can estimate that in the late 1970s, a pouch was likely around 75 cents to $1.00.

Sir Walter Raleigh: This blend is mentioned alongside others where by the 1980s, all had risen to about a dollar. Given the consistency in pricing with other OTC blends, Sir Walter Raleigh would likely have been in the same price range, around 75 cents to $1.00 for a pouch in the late 1970s

motie2

When I began smoking a pipe in seminary ( ‘Twas 1964 ) I paid around 35 cents a pouch for most OTH foil pouches, and a bit more for blends like Amphora, Sail, and Flying Dutchman. Thiswas in Cincinnati….

Didn’t learn about better tobacco and English blends from upperclassmen until a few years later.

Ruffinogold

@motie2 ... Oh the old DE Amphora Brown .... that was the fourth blend I tried . At that time I was in the northwest corner of NJ near the Delaware Water Gap . 

So , I am probably pretty accurate with the old prices  . I appreciate your input , brother . 
Oh man , Flying Dutchman ... ugh . I had that once , It bit me  . The ship was cool 

KA9FFJ

Good stuff guys... much appreciated...

Zouave1864

Not sure exactly where this cigar shop or manufacturer was. Found this coin in my grandfather's tools.

motie2

Also: The Webster Cigar Company featured images of American statesman Daniel Webster (1782-1852) on its cigar boxes.

motie2

<<Edgar Meyer Cullman was born on January 7, 1918. He comes from a family that was deeply involved in the tobacco business. His great-grandfather was the wine and tobacco merchant Ferdinand Kullman who emigrated to the United States in 1848. His grandfather and uncle, Joseph and Jacob, founded the tobacco brokerage house Cullman Brothers in 1892. His father owned farmland in the connecticut River Valley that grew the tobacco used for cigar wrappers. In 1929, his father purchased the Webster Tobacco Company after the 1929 stock market collapse In 1961, Cullman and a group of investors bought for $25 million a controlling interest in then the 2nd-largest cigar producer in the United States, New-York-based General Cigar Company which owned the brands White Owl, Tiparillo, Tijuana Smalls, and Macanudo  In 1962, he was elected president and CEO of General Cigar; he grew sales at the company from $70 million and 11% market share in 1963 to $220 million in 1967. He died at 93 on August 28, 2011.>>

motie2

Zouave1864

@motie2 that's awsome,  thanks for finding 

mapletop

Circa 50s ashtray acquired at silent auction at St. Louis pipe show 2022

Ruffinogold

Cool stuff , guys !!

Zouave1864

@mapletop nice!

motie2

Cigar band

Ruffinogold

Cool stuff , guys !!

ghostsofpompeii

When I think about the early days of my pipe smoking experience, and those great old codger blends like John Rolf Peach Brandy and Middleton Cherry Blend the two words that come to mind are Tongue Bite. I was just a kid and smoked like locomotive. The bowl of the pipe would get so hot I could barely touch it. Had no idea what I was doing - but thought I looked cool smoking a pipe. In a matter of minutes I'd have the room in a cloud of smoke. And the inside of my mouth was like a blast furnace.   

motie2

@ghostsofpompeii

On point! My first tobacco (1964) was John Rolf (because it was what our organist smoked, and he was my sole pipe smoking model). Cherry Blend was my second (because of the wonderful aroma).

Both blends bit like a barracuda..

Eventually, upperclassmen introduced me to English blends, and as the years went by, I found some aromatic mixtures that didn’t bite; the ones I smoke these days. But while I miss Balkan Sobranie, I still enjoy a bowl of the Sasieni from time to time.

motie2

BTW, both John Rolf and Cherry Blend were $.35 per pouch in 1964.

KA9FFJ

First pipe was in 1967. Purchased it at a local drug store where I was attending college.
My first blend was... you guessed it, Middleton's Cherry.
I couldn't finish that 1.5 oz.!  My tongue felt twice its size and, if I would have thought it safe, I would have put calamine lotion on it!
After a little experimenting,  I finally settled in with Flying Dutchman. 
By the end of my college years, I had acquired 2 stacks of tins about 3 feet high each.
Often thought about getting some FD to see if it's still as good as I thought it was back then...🤔

ghostsofpompeii

@KA9FFJ I ODed on Flying Dutchman one day while at work (smoked bowl after bowl until I was physically sick) and haven't touched it since. I did the same thing with those little Armour sausages in a can, and just the though makes me sick. Actually, now that I'm on that cancer medication I got extremely sick just typing out this message thinking about it.

motie2

@ghostsofpompeii

i did the same thing one New Years Eve… with scotch.

RockyMountainBriar

The only thing that I can think of offhand that I have an aversion to, so far, is rotten eggs.
A tip from a friend, don’t be suckered in to eating an unidentified “Beenie Bot”  jelly bean.  The damn rotten egg one damn near made be barf.  Oh yea, a friend procured some durian fruit cream filled wafer cookies.  I love wafer cookies.  My brother ate one first (thank the heavens) from the smell of his breath, and the open container of cookies from about ten feet away, it almost made me “lose my cookies”.  It’s said it tastes sweet to some, but your mileage may vary…..me…nope, not trying it🤢.

RockyMountainBriar

Oh, I’m pretty sure Balut would make me spew as well…..nope, no doing it.

motie2

@RockyMountainBriar

But have you tried surströmming?

KA9FFJ

😳😬

ghostsofpompeii

Changing my first baby's diaper. Nearly threw-up on my son as I fumbled with the damn safety pin.

RockyMountainBriar

@motie2
Nope, and double nope.  
Also not trying Hákarl, I think it might be akin to eating something marinated in cat pee🤢
A bit of interesting, and mind boggling, information (to me anyway) from Wikipedia.
I watched a Discovery channel episode that said that the chemical responsible for the uncured flesh’s toxicity is what keeps them from freezing.

Greenland sharks have the longest lifespan of any known vertebrate, estimated to be between 250 and 500 years.[4] They are among the largest extant shark species, reaching a maximum confirmed length of 6.4 m (21 ft) long and weighing over 1,000 kg (2,200 lb). They reach sexual maturity at about 150 years of age, and their pups are born alive after an estimated gestation period of 8 to 18 years.[5] The shark is a generalist feeder, consuming a variety of available foods, including carrion.[6]

Greenland shark meat is toxic to mammals due to its high levels of trimethylamine N-oxide,[7]although a treated form of it is eaten in Iceland as a delicacy known as kæstur hákarl.[8]

KA9FFJ

😳😬