Carreras Tobacco Company
Encyclopedia
The House of Carreras was a tobacco
business that was established in London in the nineteenth century by a nobleman from Spain, Don José Carreras Ferrer. It continued as an independent company until November 1958, when it merged with Rothmans of Pall Mall. In 1972 the name was used as the vehicle for the merger of various European tobacco interests to form Rothmans International.
The founder of the business was a Spanish nobleman, Don José Carreras Ferrer, who fought in the Peninsular War
under the Duke of Wellington
(1808–1814). After serving with distinction and receiving the highest military honours, it is believed he was obliged to leave Spain on account of his political views.
s were increasing in popularity and Don José became a pioneer in his field. However, although the business prospered it did not become a major concern until his son, Don José Joaquin, began to specialise in the blending of tobaccos and snuff
.
at 61 Prince's Street W1, and in 1853 was granted the highest honour of a warrant as the sole supplier of cigars and tobacco to the Spanish Legation
in London. His fame as a skilled tobacco blender soon spread, and he produced special blends to suit the individual tastes of the highest members of society, with fashionable and distinguished customers visiting his showrooms to select their own tobaccos.
One of Don José's most famous customers was the third Earl of Craven
. A special blend, to become known as Craven Mixture, was created specially for him and this blend has since spread in popularity throughout the world.
W1. Here he was visited by royalty from many lands and as early as 1866 he received Royal Warrants from HRH The Prince of Wales
and HRH the Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. Shortly after in 1874, Carreras received a Warrant from His Majesty King Alfonso XII of Spain
. The hand-written sales ledgers of this period show accounts held by nobility, statesmen, men of letters and high-ranking service officers.
Some of Don José's tobacco brands became world famous - as well as Craven Mixture, there was Guards' Mixture, Hankey's Mixture and others. Over one thousand brands of cigar could be bought from Carreras, together with snuffs, cigarettes, pipes
and all the usual requisites of the trade.
Prince's Street became part of Wardour Street
in 1878, and Number 61 became known as Prince's House, No 7 Wardour Street. The House of Carreras became a London landmark, and it was here that Prince Edward (later Edward VII
) often came to select the finest cigars.
, the famous novelist and author, was a valued customer during the 1890s. When he wrote My Lady Nicotine which was published in 1890, he centred the story around a mythical tobacco called Arcadia Mixture. It wasn't long before Carreras realised that Barrie's sole supply of tobacco was the Craven Mixture he sold at Wardour Street, and in January 1897 Barrie confirmed to Don Jose that Arcadia Mixture and Craven Mixture were one and the same. Shortly afterwards, Carreras began using Barrie's endorsement in his advertising and Craven Mixture benefited as sales at home and abroad increased rapidly.
However, another of the cigarette machine makers, Bernhard Baron, had returned to London from the United States in 1896 with a patent for a new machine which could make 450 cigarettes a minute, and his progress was watched with interest by Mr Yapp who was by then running the Carreras business but who was keen to make cigarettes a paying venture.
Baron was determined to put his making machine into a small concern such as Carreras. Having been deprived of the opportunity to sell his machines to the newly-formed Imperial Tobacco Company, which had a monopoly on the Bonsack machines, the opportunity arose in 1903 for Yapp to negotiate a business arrangement with Baron.
On 6 June 1903, Carreras became a public company with Yapp and Baron as directors and, under the leadership of Bernhard Baron, heralded the beginnings of defiant competition for the now powerful Imperial Tobacco Group and the new American invader, James Buchanan Duke
, who was also capturing large slices of the British market with Ogden’s Guinea Gold, the first Virginia cigarette made in this country.
The original Carreras prospectus was heavily criticised in the City press, but within a short time the shares were fully subscribed, particularly by members of the tobacco trade who were quick to realise the potential of the new venture.
The Baron family had a reputation as good employers who treated their staff well. Bernhard Baron would walk amongst his employees daily, enquiring after their families, and his son, Louis, and his grandson, Maurice, also made regular visits to the factory floor. A tradition developed that on Bernhard's birthday, each December, all employees were given two weeks' wages and a cake to take home.
Baron chose many novel schemes for the promotion of Carreras’ pipe tobacco and cigarette brands. In 1909, the company introduced the Baron automatic pipe filler in cartridges, which revolutionised pipe smoking and sold by the million.
More developments were made in the pipe field, including a cartridge case. Other brands were introduced before the First World War including Fireball, Golden Clipper, Red Route Mixture and Life Ray.
W1 which still retained many of its grand, privately-occupied houses and clubs. The medallion which is still reproduced on each packet of Piccadilly Filter was acquired with the purchase of Bugoslavsky's company.
Cigarettes were in short supply but Baron did not deviate from his object of better quality marketing of better quality products than his competitors. As an example, he enclosed French dictionaries in the containers of all cigarettes sent to the Front and supplied millions of copies of phrase and grammar books.
Craven A became such a huge success in the United Kingdom that various cork-tipped brands were launched to compete against it by Imperial Tobacco Company and other tobacco houses. But the competition fell by the wayside and Craven A is still marketed around the world.
At the same time as Craven A was pioneering a new fashion in cigarette smoking, the competition was moving in on the coupon business. But once again, Carreras stayed in front with their well-known coupon brand Black Cat.
Don José decided to adopt the cat as part of the company's image and in 1886 it became the first trademark to be registered by Carreras. Eventually the cat became an integral part of the design of the Black Cat pack where it appeared in a white circle surrounded by a black border above the initials “JJC” (Don José Joaquin Carreras).
The Black Cat cigarette was introduced in 1904 as one of the first machine-made cigarettes manufactured in Britain.
The black cat was also used in some of the earliest cigarette promotions, including the Black Cat stamp album
which was issued free to smokers. Stamps were available inside the cigarette packs and £325 in prizes was offered for the best completed albums.
In 1907 Carreras introduced an early version of the football pools
. Coupons listing forthcoming matches were available from tobacconists and prizes were given for both the best forecast and to the owner of the shop from where the coupon had been purchased.
The first item to be given away inside Black Cat cigarette packets was the Black Cat Library of Short Stories which appeared in 1909. This was a series of forty adventure stories with titles ranging from “A Fight with the Spaniards”, to “The Gunpowder Plot”, “Who Was the Man in the Iron Mask?” and “The Revenge”.
In 1910 Black Cat began full-scale coupon trading, offering gifts such as pipe fillers and other smokers' requisites.
One of the most ambitious promotions took place on 18 October 1913 - designated by the company as “Black Cat Day”. Advertised extensively in the national press, Black Cat salesmen could give a golden half-sovereign to anyone they approached in the street who could prove they were in possession of a Black Cat pack.
During the First World War Carreras sent gift parcels to the British troops which included French phrase books inside cigarette packs. These were to enable the soldiers to “get on better terms with our French allies”.
In 1914 Black Cat cigarettes offered smokers a chance to collect small cardboard flags of the Allies
and in 1916 the first set of cigarette cards was included in the packs. This was a set of 140 war cartoons by Louis Raemaekers
which could fetch a considerable price at auction today. The next series of cards quickly followed, featuring Women on War Work. This was succeeded in 1915 by a series on the Science of Boxing.
During the early 1920s enthusiasm for the Black Cat was at a peak, with many people wearing badges and stickers featuring the cat and even going to fancy dress parties in black cat costumes. By now, coupon trading was fiercely competitive and the Black Cat gift catalogue offered gramophone records, gardening equipment, gentlemen's razors, automobile accessories and wirelesses.
The cigarette manufacturers agreed to withdraw coupons on 1 January 1934 but the number and variety of cigarette card series continued to increase, with Carreras amongst the most prolific of the issuing companies.
During the Second World War many cigarette brands were withdrawn from sale and Black Cat was one of these. The brand didn’t appear again until 1957, but it was reintroduced as a plain cigarette at a time when huge sales were being made by filter cigarettes. The market for plain brands continued to diminish and Black Cat was withdrawn again in 1959.
It made another appearance on the UK market in 1976, this time as a filter cigarette, but finally disappeared in November 1993. However, the trademark continues in the ownership of the British American Tobacco
Group of companies.
, the war had increased demand for cigarettes and, despite taking on additional London premises at Aldgate
, Carreras had to find a new factory.
In 1928, the famous Arcadia Works
was opened in Mornington Crescent
NW1, formerly a favourite residence of artists and writers. This building, which has become a major London landmark, was as revolutionary in its concept as it was unusual in its design. It was the first factory in Britain to make use of pre-stressed concrete technology, the first to contain air conditioning
and a dust extraction plant and the company was the first to provide full welfare services for its employees. Such was the fame of the Arcadia Works that it was often visited by royalty, including the Duke of Windsor when he was the Prince of Wales, King George VI when he was the Duke of York, and the late Duke of Kent. Many other important visitors from every part of the globe were entertained at Mornington Crescent.
Dominating the entrance to the building were two large bronze cats. Cast at the Haskins Foundry in London, these versions of the Egyptian god Bastet were each eight feet six inches tall and stood guard over Arcadia Works until 1959 when Carreras merged with Rothmans of Pall Mall and moved to a new factory in Basildon
, Essex. The cats were separated, with one making the short journey to Essex, but one went to bask in the sun outside the Carreras factory at Spanishtown, Jamaica.
Coupons were introduced to small cigarettes and sold under the brand name Clubs. An outstanding piece of marketing, this was a departure from the usual wide range of gifts, offering in their place a limited range of carefully selected, high quality articles covering more personal day-to-day requirements.
The brand was very successful. At one time there were no fewer than 14 factories devoted entirely to the production of clothing to be given in return for coupons for Clubs cigarettes.
Sales increased rapidly and again the competition swung into action with at least six other brands of a similar type. Clubs' success even persuaded Gallaher Tobacco to introduce coupons into Park Drive, a move which all through the coupon war they had steadfastly maintained they would never do.
Finally the coupon war careered out of control. Competition was cut-throat. Eventually the companies agreed to end the war in 1933 with the formation of the Tobacco Trade Association, now the UK Tobacco Manufacturers' Association.
To increase sales of the of this once prestigious brand of cigarettes and offer a cheaper price, there was the introduction of the Flip top 20 pack a design submitted by Frederick Willis. Although the package was used by the company no patent was issued for the design and therefore no residuals paid for its ingenious design and use. Today most brands of cigarettes can be purchased in these 20 Flip Top packages.
(including Barneys Tobacco, Barneys Punchbowle and Parson's Pleasure). Soon after the purchase of Sinclairs the grandson of the founder of the firm, John Alexander Sinclair, was elected to the Board of Carreras and later became Joint Managing Director.
who were manufacturing a fine range of popular pipe tobaccos, including Erinmore Mixture and Erinmore Flake.
and an interest in P J Carroll, Ireland’s largest cigarette manufacturer. The Dutch cigar company, Schimmelpenninck, was also part of the Group.
The Baron family, which had held a controlling interest in Carreras since the early 1900s, decided to sell their shares in 1958 but, before doing so, were responsible for two major projects which became decisive in the progress of the Company.
Firstly it was decided to transfer the manufacturing plant to the new town of Basildon
in Essex
as the Arcadia Works in Mornington Crescent
had become uneconomic and mass production techniques were being carried out on different floor levels.
Secondly, with the beginning of the swing towards filtered cigarette smoking, Carreras launched a brand which came to have national appeal - Guards.
Two factors played an important part in bringing together Rothmans and Carreras. The first was the trend towards filter cigarettes which was beginning in the 1950s. Both Rothmans and Carreras had pioneered filtered brands. The second was Carreras’ decision to move manufacturing to the large, modern factory in Basildon
which could provide much-needed production capacity for Rothmans with its expanding international trade.
A manufacturing agreement was entered into and by 1961 the business had expanded to the point where Carreras had acquired the Rothmans cigarette and tobacco business in Britain and some of its overseas markets. As a result of this deal, the biggest shareholder in the enlarged operation became Rothmans Tobacco (Holdings). As the business expanded so new trading links were forged and new businesses opened up.
Tobacco
Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...
business that was established in London in the nineteenth century by a nobleman from Spain, Don José Carreras Ferrer. It continued as an independent company until November 1958, when it merged with Rothmans of Pall Mall. In 1972 the name was used as the vehicle for the merger of various European tobacco interests to form Rothmans International.
Spanish beginnings
The antecedents of the Carreras business stem back into the eighteenth century (their products and advertising materials consistently bore the legend 'Established 1788'), and forebears of the founder’s family were Spanish apothecaries.The founder of the business was a Spanish nobleman, Don José Carreras Ferrer, who fought in the Peninsular War
Peninsular War
The Peninsular War was a war between France and the allied powers of Spain, the United Kingdom, and Portugal for control of the Iberian Peninsula during the Napoleonic Wars. The war began when French and Spanish armies crossed Spain and invaded Portugal in 1807. Then, in 1808, France turned on its...
under the Duke of Wellington
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, KG, GCB, GCH, PC, FRS , was an Irish-born British soldier and statesman, and one of the leading military and political figures of the 19th century...
(1808–1814). After serving with distinction and receiving the highest military honours, it is believed he was obliged to leave Spain on account of his political views.
The move to London
During the early years of the 19th century Carreras began trading in London at a time when cigarCigar
A cigar is a tightly-rolled bundle of dried and fermented tobacco that is ignited so that its smoke may be drawn into the mouth. Cigar tobacco is grown in significant quantities in Brazil, Cameroon, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Indonesia, Mexico, Nicaragua, Philippines, and the Eastern...
s were increasing in popularity and Don José became a pioneer in his field. However, although the business prospered it did not become a major concern until his son, Don José Joaquin, began to specialise in the blending of tobaccos and snuff
Snuff
Snuff is a product made from ground or pulverised tobacco leaves. It is an example of smokeless tobacco. It originated in the Americas and was in common use in Europe by the 17th century...
.
The business develops
By 1852 Don José Joaquin Carreras had established himself near Leicester SquareLeicester Square
Leicester Square is a pedestrianised square in the West End of London, England. The Square lies within an area bound by Lisle Street, to the north; Charing Cross Road, to the east; Orange Street, to the south; and Whitcomb Street, to the west...
at 61 Prince's Street W1, and in 1853 was granted the highest honour of a warrant as the sole supplier of cigars and tobacco to the Spanish Legation
Legation
A legation was the term used in diplomacy to denote a diplomatic representative office lower than an embassy. Where an embassy was headed by an Ambassador, a legation was headed by a Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary....
in London. His fame as a skilled tobacco blender soon spread, and he produced special blends to suit the individual tastes of the highest members of society, with fashionable and distinguished customers visiting his showrooms to select their own tobaccos.
One of Don José's most famous customers was the third Earl of Craven
Earl of Craven
Earl of Craven, in the County of York, is a title that has been created twice, once in the Peerage of England and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. The first creation came in the Peerage of England in 1664 in favour of the soldier William Craven, the eldest son of Sir William Craven, Lord...
. A special blend, to become known as Craven Mixture, was created specially for him and this blend has since spread in popularity throughout the world.
Tobacco Trade Benevolent Association founded
In 1860 Don José became the founder committee member of the Tobacco Trade Benevolent Association.Royalty and Regent Street
Carreras soon opened another shop, this time in the Arcade in London's newly developed and fashionable Regent StreetRegent Street
Regent Street is one of the major shopping streets in London's West End, well known to tourists and Londoners alike, and famous for its Christmas illuminations...
W1. Here he was visited by royalty from many lands and as early as 1866 he received Royal Warrants from HRH The Prince of Wales
Edward VII of the United Kingdom
Edward VII was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910...
and HRH the Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. Shortly after in 1874, Carreras received a Warrant from His Majesty King Alfonso XII of Spain
Alfonso XII of Spain
Alfonso XII was king of Spain, reigning from 1874 to 1885, after a coup d'état restored the monarchy and ended the ephemeral First Spanish Republic.-Early life and paternity:Alfonso was the son of Queen Isabella II of Spain, and...
. The hand-written sales ledgers of this period show accounts held by nobility, statesmen, men of letters and high-ranking service officers.
Some of Don José's tobacco brands became world famous - as well as Craven Mixture, there was Guards' Mixture, Hankey's Mixture and others. Over one thousand brands of cigar could be bought from Carreras, together with snuffs, cigarettes, pipes
Pipes
Pipes may refer to:*Pipe, a cylindrical conveyance*PIPES *Yahoo! Pipes*Pipeline *Bagpipes or Uilleann pipes*PIPE deal or private investment in public equity*Pipes , a Transformers character...
and all the usual requisites of the trade.
W J Yapp takes control
The business remained in the hands of the Carreras family until 1894, when Mr W J Yapp (a well-known figure in the shoe leather industry) took control.Prince's Street became part of Wardour Street
Wardour Street
Wardour Street is a street in Soho, London. It is a one-way street south to north from Leicester Square, up through Chinatown, across Shaftesbury Avenue to Oxford Street.-History:...
in 1878, and Number 61 became known as Prince's House, No 7 Wardour Street. The House of Carreras became a London landmark, and it was here that Prince Edward (later Edward VII
Edward VII of the United Kingdom
Edward VII was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910...
) often came to select the finest cigars.
J. M. Barrie and Craven Mixture
J. M. BarrieJ. M. Barrie
Sir James Matthew Barrie, 1st Baronet, OM was a Scottish author and dramatist, best remembered today as the creator of Peter Pan. The child of a family of small-town weavers, he was educated in Scotland. He moved to London, where he developed a career as a novelist and playwright...
, the famous novelist and author, was a valued customer during the 1890s. When he wrote My Lady Nicotine which was published in 1890, he centred the story around a mythical tobacco called Arcadia Mixture. It wasn't long before Carreras realised that Barrie's sole supply of tobacco was the Craven Mixture he sold at Wardour Street, and in January 1897 Barrie confirmed to Don Jose that Arcadia Mixture and Craven Mixture were one and the same. Shortly afterwards, Carreras began using Barrie's endorsement in his advertising and Craven Mixture benefited as sales at home and abroad increased rapidly.
Bernhard Baron
In 1881, the first cigarette making machine was patented in the United States by James Bonsack and by 1883 one of the British manufacturers, W. D. & H. O. Wills, had pioneered the use of the Bonsack in England. Wills joined with twelve other companies to form the Imperial Tobacco Group, from which both Rothmans and Carreras chose to remain independent, and by 1901 the Bonsack machine, making 200 cigarettes a minute, was exclusively available only to members of this Group.However, another of the cigarette machine makers, Bernhard Baron, had returned to London from the United States in 1896 with a patent for a new machine which could make 450 cigarettes a minute, and his progress was watched with interest by Mr Yapp who was by then running the Carreras business but who was keen to make cigarettes a paying venture.
Baron was determined to put his making machine into a small concern such as Carreras. Having been deprived of the opportunity to sell his machines to the newly-formed Imperial Tobacco Company, which had a monopoly on the Bonsack machines, the opportunity arose in 1903 for Yapp to negotiate a business arrangement with Baron.
On 6 June 1903, Carreras became a public company with Yapp and Baron as directors and, under the leadership of Bernhard Baron, heralded the beginnings of defiant competition for the now powerful Imperial Tobacco Group and the new American invader, James Buchanan Duke
James Buchanan Duke
James Buchanan Duke was a U.S. tobacco and electric power industrialist best known for his involvement with Duke University.-Personal life:...
, who was also capturing large slices of the British market with Ogden’s Guinea Gold, the first Virginia cigarette made in this country.
The original Carreras prospectus was heavily criticised in the City press, but within a short time the shares were fully subscribed, particularly by members of the tobacco trade who were quick to realise the potential of the new venture.
The Baron family had a reputation as good employers who treated their staff well. Bernhard Baron would walk amongst his employees daily, enquiring after their families, and his son, Louis, and his grandson, Maurice, also made regular visits to the factory floor. A tradition developed that on Bernhard's birthday, each December, all employees were given two weeks' wages and a cake to take home.
Carreras and Marcianus Ltd
In 1904, an allied company was established. Called Carreras and Marcianus Ltd and operating from St James's Place, Aldgate EC3, the former Baron Machine Company works, the company’s purpose was to commence production of machine made cigarettes. During the last six months of 1904 three brands made their debut, including Black Cat, the first cigarette in the United Kingdom to contain coupons which were redeemable for gifts.Promotional coupons introduced
In 1905 yet more brands were introduced such as Chick, Jetty and Sweet Kiss and Carreras began coupon trading in Black Cat. Business prospered and in 1906 additional premises were opened nearby, introducing new brands such as Carreras Ovals and Seven Up.Baron chose many novel schemes for the promotion of Carreras’ pipe tobacco and cigarette brands. In 1909, the company introduced the Baron automatic pipe filler in cartridges, which revolutionised pipe smoking and sold by the million.
Arcadia Works, City Road
Expansion of the business continued and, in 1907, the first Arcadia Works was built on City Road EC1, the street mentioned in the old nursery rhyme “Up and down the City Road, in and out the Eagle, that’s the way the money goes, pop goes the weasel”.More developments were made in the pipe field, including a cartridge case. Other brands were introduced before the First World War including Fireball, Golden Clipper, Red Route Mixture and Life Ray.
Alexander Bugoslavsky
In 1913, Carreras acquired the prestige business of Alexander Bugoslavsky and opened a showroom at 55 PiccadillyPiccadilly
Piccadilly is a major street in central London, running from Hyde Park Corner in the west to Piccadilly Circus in the east. It is completely within the city of Westminster. The street is part of the A4 road, London's second most important western artery. St...
W1 which still retained many of its grand, privately-occupied houses and clubs. The medallion which is still reproduced on each packet of Piccadilly Filter was acquired with the purchase of Bugoslavsky's company.
The 1914-1918 War
The 1914-18 war caused a rapid acceleration in cigarette smoking and Carreras was to the fore in supplying cigarettes to the armed forces.Cigarettes were in short supply but Baron did not deviate from his object of better quality marketing of better quality products than his competitors. As an example, he enclosed French dictionaries in the containers of all cigarettes sent to the Front and supplied millions of copies of phrase and grammar books.
Craven A
Soon after the end of the 1914-18 War the market resumed its normal competitive spirit with Carreras once more well to the fore. Baron knew that in order to compete successfully his product had to be better than his competitors' and in 1921 the House of Carreras recorded a first in the industry by launching a brand destined to become a household name in over 120 countries worldwide. This was the first ever machine-made cork-tipped cigarette, selling under the brand name of Craven A, again using the name of the Earl of Craven whose family remain close friends of the Rothmans International Group of companies.Craven A became such a huge success in the United Kingdom that various cork-tipped brands were launched to compete against it by Imperial Tobacco Company and other tobacco houses. But the competition fell by the wayside and Craven A is still marketed around the world.
At the same time as Craven A was pioneering a new fashion in cigarette smoking, the competition was moving in on the coupon business. But once again, Carreras stayed in front with their well-known coupon brand Black Cat.
Black Cat
Black Cat is now a cigarette brand sold around the world, but its name sprang from humble origins. The original black cat was an ordinary domestic cat which spent hours curled up asleep in the window of Don José’s Wardour Street shop, well before the turn of the 20th century. Because the cat became such a familiar sight to the passers-by, the shop began to be known as the “black cat shop”.Don José decided to adopt the cat as part of the company's image and in 1886 it became the first trademark to be registered by Carreras. Eventually the cat became an integral part of the design of the Black Cat pack where it appeared in a white circle surrounded by a black border above the initials “JJC” (Don José Joaquin Carreras).
The Black Cat cigarette was introduced in 1904 as one of the first machine-made cigarettes manufactured in Britain.
The black cat was also used in some of the earliest cigarette promotions, including the Black Cat stamp album
Stamp album
A stamp album is a book, often loose-leafed , in which a collection of postage stamps may be stored and displayed.- Overview :...
which was issued free to smokers. Stamps were available inside the cigarette packs and £325 in prizes was offered for the best completed albums.
In 1907 Carreras introduced an early version of the football pools
Football pools
A football pool, often collectively referred to as "the pools", is a betting pool based on predicting the outcome of top-level association football matches set to take place in the coming week. The pools are typically cheap to enter, with the potential to win huge money. Entries were traditionally...
. Coupons listing forthcoming matches were available from tobacconists and prizes were given for both the best forecast and to the owner of the shop from where the coupon had been purchased.
The first item to be given away inside Black Cat cigarette packets was the Black Cat Library of Short Stories which appeared in 1909. This was a series of forty adventure stories with titles ranging from “A Fight with the Spaniards”, to “The Gunpowder Plot”, “Who Was the Man in the Iron Mask?” and “The Revenge”.
In 1910 Black Cat began full-scale coupon trading, offering gifts such as pipe fillers and other smokers' requisites.
One of the most ambitious promotions took place on 18 October 1913 - designated by the company as “Black Cat Day”. Advertised extensively in the national press, Black Cat salesmen could give a golden half-sovereign to anyone they approached in the street who could prove they were in possession of a Black Cat pack.
During the First World War Carreras sent gift parcels to the British troops which included French phrase books inside cigarette packs. These were to enable the soldiers to “get on better terms with our French allies”.
In 1914 Black Cat cigarettes offered smokers a chance to collect small cardboard flags of the Allies
Allies of World War I
The Entente Powers were the countries at war with the Central Powers during World War I. The members of the Triple Entente were the United Kingdom, France, and the Russian Empire; Italy entered the war on their side in 1915...
and in 1916 the first set of cigarette cards was included in the packs. This was a set of 140 war cartoons by Louis Raemaekers
Louis Raemaekers
Louis Raemaekers was a Dutch painter and cartoonist for the Amsterdam Telegraaf during World War I, noted for his anti-German stance....
which could fetch a considerable price at auction today. The next series of cards quickly followed, featuring Women on War Work. This was succeeded in 1915 by a series on the Science of Boxing.
During the early 1920s enthusiasm for the Black Cat was at a peak, with many people wearing badges and stickers featuring the cat and even going to fancy dress parties in black cat costumes. By now, coupon trading was fiercely competitive and the Black Cat gift catalogue offered gramophone records, gardening equipment, gentlemen's razors, automobile accessories and wirelesses.
The cigarette manufacturers agreed to withdraw coupons on 1 January 1934 but the number and variety of cigarette card series continued to increase, with Carreras amongst the most prolific of the issuing companies.
During the Second World War many cigarette brands were withdrawn from sale and Black Cat was one of these. The brand didn’t appear again until 1957, but it was reintroduced as a plain cigarette at a time when huge sales were being made by filter cigarettes. The market for plain brands continued to diminish and Black Cat was withdrawn again in 1959.
It made another appearance on the UK market in 1976, this time as a filter cigarette, but finally disappeared in November 1993. However, the trademark continues in the ownership of the British American Tobacco
British American Tobacco
British American Tobacco p.l.c. is a global tobacco company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the world’s second largest quoted tobacco company by global market share , with a leading position in more than 50 countries and a presence in more than 180 countries...
Group of companies.
Arcadia Works, Mornington Crescent
In 1921, immediately after the launch of Craven A, Carreras launched yet more brands such as Wall Arms, Piccadilly and Turf. By 1927 the business had outgrown the Arcadia premises in City RoadCity Road
City Road or The City Road is a road that runs through inner north and central London. The northwestern extremity of the road is at the Angel, Islington where it forms a continuation of Pentonville Road. Pentonville Road itself is the modern name for London's first bypass, the New Road from...
, the war had increased demand for cigarettes and, despite taking on additional London premises at Aldgate
Aldgate
Aldgate was the eastern most gateway through London Wall leading from the City of London to Whitechapel and the east end of London. Aldgate gives its name to a ward of the City...
, Carreras had to find a new factory.
In 1928, the famous Arcadia Works
Carreras Cigarette Factory
The Carreras Cigarette Factory is a large Art Deco building in Camden, London in the United Kingdom. It is noted as a striking example of early 20th Century Egyptian Revival architecture...
was opened in Mornington Crescent
Mornington Crescent (street)
Mornington Crescent is also a street off the A4 near Heathrow Airport.Mornington Crescent is a street in Camden, London, England. It was built in the 1820s, on a greenfield site just to the north of central London. The crescent was named after the Earl of Mornington, brother of the Duke of Wellington...
NW1, formerly a favourite residence of artists and writers. This building, which has become a major London landmark, was as revolutionary in its concept as it was unusual in its design. It was the first factory in Britain to make use of pre-stressed concrete technology, the first to contain air conditioning
Air conditioning
An air conditioner is a home appliance, system, or mechanism designed to dehumidify and extract heat from an area. The cooling is done using a simple refrigeration cycle...
and a dust extraction plant and the company was the first to provide full welfare services for its employees. Such was the fame of the Arcadia Works that it was often visited by royalty, including the Duke of Windsor when he was the Prince of Wales, King George VI when he was the Duke of York, and the late Duke of Kent. Many other important visitors from every part of the globe were entertained at Mornington Crescent.
Dominating the entrance to the building were two large bronze cats. Cast at the Haskins Foundry in London, these versions of the Egyptian god Bastet were each eight feet six inches tall and stood guard over Arcadia Works until 1959 when Carreras merged with Rothmans of Pall Mall and moved to a new factory in Basildon
Basildon
Basildon is a town located in the Basildon District of the county of Essex, England.It lies east of Central London and south of the county town of Chelmsford...
, Essex. The cats were separated, with one making the short journey to Essex, but one went to bask in the sun outside the Carreras factory at Spanishtown, Jamaica.
Coupons
In 1931, with the coupon war at its height, Carreras made a move which not only registered yet another first for the industry but also rocketed its sales at the expense of its competitors.Coupons were introduced to small cigarettes and sold under the brand name Clubs. An outstanding piece of marketing, this was a departure from the usual wide range of gifts, offering in their place a limited range of carefully selected, high quality articles covering more personal day-to-day requirements.
The brand was very successful. At one time there were no fewer than 14 factories devoted entirely to the production of clothing to be given in return for coupons for Clubs cigarettes.
Sales increased rapidly and again the competition swung into action with at least six other brands of a similar type. Clubs' success even persuaded Gallaher Tobacco to introduce coupons into Park Drive, a move which all through the coupon war they had steadfastly maintained they would never do.
Finally the coupon war careered out of control. Competition was cut-throat. Eventually the companies agreed to end the war in 1933 with the formation of the Tobacco Trade Association, now the UK Tobacco Manufacturers' Association.
To increase sales of the of this once prestigious brand of cigarettes and offer a cheaper price, there was the introduction of the Flip top 20 pack a design submitted by Frederick Willis. Although the package was used by the company no patent was issued for the design and therefore no residuals paid for its ingenious design and use. Today most brands of cigarettes can be purchased in these 20 Flip Top packages.
John Sinclair Ltd
Between the two World Wars, Carreras' sales in the United Kingdom and overseas increased and more brands were launched. In 1929 valuable trade-marks were acquired with the purchase of John Sinclair Ltd of Newcastle upon TyneNewcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...
(including Barneys Tobacco, Barneys Punchbowle and Parson's Pleasure). Soon after the purchase of Sinclairs the grandson of the founder of the firm, John Alexander Sinclair, was elected to the Board of Carreras and later became Joint Managing Director.
Second World War years
Once again a World War brought a sharp increase in the nation’s demand for cigarettes, coinciding with an inevitable scarcity of tobacco leaf. This brought about a shortage of both Carreras and its competitors' products, a situation which was not alleviated until the early 1950s.R & J Hill Limited of London and Murray, Sons & Co Ltd
In 1953, Carreras acquired the assets of R & J Hill Limited of London and the entire share capital of Murray, Sons & Company Limited of BelfastBelfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
who were manufacturing a fine range of popular pipe tobaccos, including Erinmore Mixture and Erinmore Flake.
Baron family sells up
By now Alfred Dunhill Ltd, the tobacconists which had been established in 1907 at No 30 Duke Street SW1, was a subsidiary of the Carreras Group. Carreras also had an associate in JamaicaJamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
and an interest in P J Carroll, Ireland’s largest cigarette manufacturer. The Dutch cigar company, Schimmelpenninck, was also part of the Group.
The Baron family, which had held a controlling interest in Carreras since the early 1900s, decided to sell their shares in 1958 but, before doing so, were responsible for two major projects which became decisive in the progress of the Company.
Firstly it was decided to transfer the manufacturing plant to the new town of Basildon
Basildon
Basildon is a town located in the Basildon District of the county of Essex, England.It lies east of Central London and south of the county town of Chelmsford...
in Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
as the Arcadia Works in Mornington Crescent
Mornington Crescent (street)
Mornington Crescent is also a street off the A4 near Heathrow Airport.Mornington Crescent is a street in Camden, London, England. It was built in the 1820s, on a greenfield site just to the north of central London. The crescent was named after the Earl of Mornington, brother of the Duke of Wellington...
had become uneconomic and mass production techniques were being carried out on different floor levels.
Secondly, with the beginning of the swing towards filtered cigarette smoking, Carreras launched a brand which came to have national appeal - Guards.
Carreras merges with Rothmans of Pall Mall
In November 1958, with the sale of the Baron family shares, Carreras merged with Rothmans of Pall Mall which by now had markets in some 120 countries around the world.Two factors played an important part in bringing together Rothmans and Carreras. The first was the trend towards filter cigarettes which was beginning in the 1950s. Both Rothmans and Carreras had pioneered filtered brands. The second was Carreras’ decision to move manufacturing to the large, modern factory in Basildon
Basildon
Basildon is a town located in the Basildon District of the county of Essex, England.It lies east of Central London and south of the county town of Chelmsford...
which could provide much-needed production capacity for Rothmans with its expanding international trade.
A manufacturing agreement was entered into and by 1961 the business had expanded to the point where Carreras had acquired the Rothmans cigarette and tobacco business in Britain and some of its overseas markets. As a result of this deal, the biggest shareholder in the enlarged operation became Rothmans Tobacco (Holdings). As the business expanded so new trading links were forged and new businesses opened up.