The early part of the twentieth century saw high rates of cigarette smoking and an intensely competitive market among manufacturers. Egyptian and Turkish tobacco products were all the rage, in particular made by a company called Murad. Prior to 1900 people hand-rolled their own cigarettes so buying a package in a colorful package was a big deal. Murad was a leader in using marketing to help advance its sales. There was a time in the 1970s when a bank would give you a toaster as a gift when opened an account. Murad employed a similar strategy “giving away” little gifts when you purchase their premium products. Although tobacco rugs were produced across a variety of different themes including Middle Eastern design patterns and country flags, our focus is on those associated with colleges and universities.

One popular such item were “tobacco” rugs, which often times were created with pennants and images of well-known universities on them. The rugs are miniature, typically measuring 7 inches by 4 inches. They are also known today as “doll house rugs,” and were made of either felt or silk.

Not to be outdone, Fatima cigarettes distinguished themselves with larger rugs, the Cornell specimen below measures 29 inches x 13 inches

In addition to the miniature rugs, manufacturers also produced leather “gifts” with their products. Also small items, they typically measure 2 1/2 x 2 inches, and because the image is pressed into the leather from behind the pennants are normally raised above the surface:

Murad’s most popular give away, though were tobacco cards (measuring 5 by 8 inches). Murad offered 150 different cards (six different set of 25), in their “college series,” highlighting various schools, and often an athlete for the school. Unlike silks or leather, cards were never included with the pack of cigarettes. Instead, after you accumulated a certain number (typically 15) purchase receipts, you mailed them into the company and they sent you a card. They even provided a handy list of each set on the back of the card:

These gifts were relatively short lived, having their heyday between 1900 and the advent of the First World War.

The give away gifts came in little envelopes, a rare example of one is seen below from the Egyptienne brand:

We have a nice selection of collegiate collectibles including tobacco gifts on our website, please take a look.