It is not surprising to anyone who knows the Bay country that the Chesapeake captured the imagination of Europeans in the 17th and 18th centuries," writes Arthur Pierce Middleton in this classic maritime history of the earliest years of Maryland and Virginia. "It was called the 'Noblest Bay in the Universe' in which the whole navies of Great Britain, France and the Netherlands might simultaneously ride at anchor." "Tobacco Coast" is the history of how the Chesapeake Bay shaped the society and economy of an entire region. Its hundreds of miles of navigable tributaries made adoption of the tobacco staples possible and eliminated the necessity of cities and towns; its physical dominance created an "essential unity" of lands sharing its shores, despite the political decisions that created the separate colonies of Maryland and Virginia. Middleton recaptures the peril faced by the early colonists (Father Andrew White, who arrived in the Ark, wrote that "all the Sprights and witches of Maryland" seemed arrayed in battle against the ship when violent storms struck off the coast) and traces how the settlers persevered and the colonies thrived, due in great measure to the growth of tobacco as the mainstay of Chesapeake commerce (in 1775 it represented over 75 percent of the total value of exports from the Chesapeake colonies and was worth some $4 million). Colonial life and commerce, shipbuilding and the merchant marine, privateers and self-protection--are all treated with insight, drama, and thoroughness in a fascinating maritime history, long out of print and now widely made available for the first time.
Collectors will cherish this full-color exploration of the tobacco tin. Over 1000 tobacco tins are illustrated in full color, revealing the designer's and the lithographer's art. The tobacco industry in America was at the forefront of modern advertising and among the first to try to instill brand identification and loyalty in their customers. Consequently many of these tins are eye catching and beautiful. This is one of the reasons they are such popular collectibles. This book is the first full color reference on tobacco tins, featuring clear photography and the highest quality reproduction. In addition, it contains advertising and other ephemera which help to give an overview of the industry's attempts to reach its customers. The size of the tin is given, as is the manufacturer when known. An up-to-date price guide is included.
Before Columbus's fateful voyage in 1492, no European had ever seen, much less tasted, tobacco or chocolate. Initially dismissed as dry leaves and an odd Indian drink, these two commodities came to conquer Europe on a scale unsurpassed by any other American resource or product. A fascinating story of contact, exploration, and exchange in the Atlantic world, Sacred Gifts, Profane Pleasures traces the ways in which these two goods of the Americas both changed and were changed by Europe.Focusing on the Spanish Empire, Marcy Norton investigates how tobacco and chocolate became material and symbolic links to the pre-Hispanic past for colonized Indians and colonizing Europeans alike. Botanical ambassadors of the American continent, they also profoundly affected Europe. Tobacco, once condemned as proof of Indian diabolism, became the constant companion of clergymen and the single largest source of state revenue in Spain. Before coffee or tea became popular in Europe, chocolate was the drink that energized the fatigued and uplifted the depressed. However, no one could quite forget the pagan past of tobacco and chocolate, despite their apparent Europeanization: physicians relied on Mesoamerican medical systems for their understanding of tobacco; theologians looked to Aztec precedent to decide whether chocolate drinking violated Lenten fasts. The struggle of scientists, theologians, and aficionados alike to reconcile notions of European superiority with the fact of American influence shaped key modern developments ranging from natural history to secularization. Norton considers the material, social, and cultural interaction between Europe and the Americas with historical depth and insight that goes beyond the portrayal of Columbian exchange simply as a matter of exploitation, infection, and conquest.
The first and best book ever dedicated solely to pipe tobacco for the pipe smoker. Not about brands, but the various leafs and growing regions, decribing what the pipeman desires in his smokeables. This is from the author's original print inventory of books.
Tobacco inHistory explores the historical transformation of tobacco from Amerindian shamanism to global capitalism, from the food of the spirits to the fatal epidemic, from the rough pipe and cigar to the modern day cigarette.
The days when rural life revolved around tobacco planting and harvest are gone, but many fondly remember when North Carolina was the state of farming, planting and picking tobacco. In this book, historian Billy Yeargin takes readers back to the days when communities were founded and built upon tobacco culture, and when traditions developed as industries were born. Yeargin recounts the deeply intriguing influence of tobacco on the history and culture of the state.
Originally published in London 1924. A wonderful collection of prose and verse on the joys of smoking, tobacco, pipes snuff etc, since Raleigh's time. Contents Include: History. Tobacco. Pipe Songs and Fancies. Woman and the Weed. Some Great Pipemen. Cigars. Cigarettes. Snuff. Virtues of the leaf. Parodies. Pipe Varieties. Tobacco and Books. Philosophy of Smoke. Recipes and Hints. Smoking Accessories. Bibliography.etc Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. Home Farm Books are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.
Tobacciana collectors know there's a buyer for everything, especially vintage tobacco collectibles, which can command premium prices. Dedicated to tobacciana collectibles, this great new reference from Warman's lists more than 3,000 of these collectibles with a price range, including such items as lighters, advertising, humidors, ashtrays, match safes, cigar cutters, pipes in US dollars, cigarette cases, tobacco tins, strikers, match dispensers, snuff boxes, and much more. More than 1,200 photos help collectors positively identify collectible items. Up-to-date prices allow (in US dollars) collectors to buy and sell at fair market values.
The Reynolds tobacco family was an American dynasty like the Rockefellers, Vanderbilts, and Astors. R.J. "Dick" Reynolds Jr. was born into privilege and decadence, but his disastrous personal life eventually destroyed almost every relationship he cherished and stole his health at a relatively young age. Dick Reynolds was dubbed "Kid Carolina" when as a teenager, he ran away from home and stowed away as part of the crew on a freighter. For the rest of his life he'd turn to the sea, instead of his friends and family, for comfort. Dick disappeared for months at a time, leading the dual life of a business mogul and troubled soul, both of which became legendary.Despite his personal demons, Dick played a pivotal role in shaping twentieth-century America through his business savvy and politics. He developed Delta and Eastern Airlines, single handedly secured FDR's third term election, and served as mayor of Winston-Salem, where his tobacco fortune was built. Yet below the gilded surface lay a turbulent life of alcoholism, infidelity, and loneliness. His chaotic existence culminated in a surprise fourth marriage and was shortly followed by a strange death, the end of a life every bit as awe-inspiring as it was disturbing. (2009)
