Army Club was a British brand of cigarettes, owned and manufactured by Cavanders Ltd of London.

Army Club
Product typeCigarette
OwnerCavanders Ltd
Produced byCavanders Ltd
CountryUnited Kingdom
Introduced1775; 249 years ago (1775)
Discontinued1961
MarketsUnited Kingdom[1][2]
Previous ownersGodfrey Phillips
Carcinogenicity: IARC group 1

History edit

The brand was founded by Cavanders Ltd in 1775. Cavanders was a cigarette company originally based in Manchester, but eventually moved its operations in London.

Army Club was a popular cigarette brand in the 1910s, especially during the time of the First World War.

The brand disappeared in 1961, as the company was taken over by the Godfrey Philips Company, whose main factory is now in Mumbai. It is believed that the company was eventually acquired by Philip Morris International.[3]

An Army Club cigarette packet was found in the pocket of the Somerton Man.[4]

In September 2014, Wales Online reported that a +100-year-old packet of Army Club cigarettes exists. The pack is kept by Brian Alexander, which has kept it safe since his father passed it onto him after his grandfather, known as Arthur Maddox, gave it to him. "The cigarettes were brought home from World War One by my grandfather Arthur Maddox, and he gave them to my father, Fred Alexandar. My grandfather bet my father he would smoke them before the month was out because he was a chain smoker. But my father did not smoke them, and so he passed them on to me and I still have them," Brian said.[5]

 
An old Army Club advertising board

Advertising edit

Various posters were made to promote the brand, especially during the time of World War I. The posters were made in multiple languages, such as English and French.[6][7] Advertising campaigns for this brand adopted the themes of nostalgia of wartime camaraderie and male culture.[8][9] Army Club cigarettes were also promoted in newspapers, such as The Illustrated London News, as well as on railway carriages.[10][11][12] Signs promoting this brand were also made.[13][14]

In the 1920s, these cigarettes were sold in elaborate tins made of pressed copper.[15][16]

A set of landscape cards were also issued with every pack of Army Club cigarettes, along with a special camerascope to view the pictures with.[17]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ "Army Club". Zigsam.at. Archived from the original on 9 May 2018. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
  2. ^ "Brands". Cigarety.by. Archived from the original on 10 May 2018. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
  3. ^ "Cavanders LTD. | Science Museum Group Collection". Archived from the original on 2018-05-10. Retrieved 2018-05-09.
  4. ^ "The Curious Case of Tamam Shud". Honisoit.com. 29 May 2013. Archived from the original on 6 May 2018. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
  5. ^ Evans, Carrie (9 September 2014). "How a packet of cigs from World War One survived to tell the tale". Walesonline.co.uk. Archived from the original on 9 May 2018. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
  6. ^ Paper, Period. "1918 Ad World War I Cavanders Army Club Cigarettes French Aviator Smoking Advert". Period Paper. Archived from the original on 9 May 2018. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
  7. ^ Paper, Period. "1918 Ad Vintage WWI Cavanders Army Club Cigarettes American Pilot Smoking Advert". Period Paper. Archived from the original on 9 May 2018. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
  8. ^ "Army Club Cigarettes 1920S - Manor Art". Manorart.co.uk. Archived from the original on 10 May 2018. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
  9. ^ "OLD ADVERT ARMY CLUB CIGARETTES BATTLE SCENE c1926 CAVANDERS VINTAGE PRINT - eBay". eBay. Archived from the original on 9 May 2018. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
  10. ^ ""Army Club" Cigarettes | THE INTERACTIVE WAR NEWS".
  11. ^ ""Cavanders Army Club" Cigarettes | THE INTERACTIVE WAR NEWS".
  12. ^ "Advertisement for Army Club cigarettes and Government Tourist Bureau photographs advertising Echuca and Apollo Bay inside a railway carriage, Victoria, ca. 1928 [picture]". nla.gov.au. Archived from the original on 10 May 2018. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
  13. ^ Railwayana, GW. "Oval Tinplate Advertising Sign ARMY CLUB - Advertising Signs". GW Railwayana. Archived from the original on 10 May 2018. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
  14. ^ "KIOSK AT FLINDERS STREET STATION AND ADVERTISEMENTS FOR ARMY CLUB CIGARETTES, De RESZKE CIGARETTES, THE WOMANS MIRROR AND SPORTING GLOBE. NEWSPAPER HEADLINE JAPANS ULTIMATUM 23-2-1932 - Public Record Office Victoria". wiki.prov.vic.gov.au. Archived from the original on 10 May 2018. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
  15. ^ "Collectable - Vintage - Cigarette Tin - Army Club Cigarettes. - eBay". eBay. Archived from the original on 9 May 2018. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
  16. ^ Design, UBC Web. "Army Club Cigarette Tin - XXXX Antique Complex". xxxxantiques.net. Archived from the original on 10 May 2018. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
  17. ^ "EARLY CAVENDER'S ARMY CLUB CIGARETTE CARD CAMERASCOPE +PEEPS INTO MANY LANDS - eBay". eBay. Archived from the original on 9 May 2018. Retrieved 9 May 2018.