Type | Private (1790–1972) Subsidiary (1972–1992) |
---|---|
Industry | Tobacco |
Founded | 1790 |
Founder | William Churchman |
Defunct | May 1992 [1] |
Fate | Joined Imperial Tobacco in 1902 |
Headquarters | , |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | Arthur C. Churchman |
Products | Cigarettes, collectible cards |
Owner | Imperial Tobacco Co. |
Number of employees | 400 (1992) [1] |
Parent | John Player & Sons |
Churchman's (originally W.A. & A.C. Churchman) was a British cigarette manufacturer based in Ipswich, Suffolk. The company was a subsidiary of John Player & Sons of Imperial Tobacco Co. Churchman was notable for producing one million cigarettes a day. [1]
The company also released (like many other tobacco manufacturers at that time) a line of collectible cards about diverse topics, but mainly focused on sports. [2]
Churchman's was founded by William Churchman in 1790. The original shop, which sold pipe tobacco, was located at Hyde Park Corner in Ipswich. [1]
In 1888 William Alfred (later Sir William) and Arthur Charles Churchman (later Lord Woodbridge and a director of the British American Tobacco from 1904 to 1923), grandsons of the founder, succeeded their father, Henry, in the business. By 1890 the company also produced "white cigarettes", and six years later produced 20,000 cigarettes an hour. [3] To counter the aggressive American invasion to the British cigarette market (started when W. Duke Sons & Co., and four of the largest American manufacturers merged to form the American Tobacco Company in 1890), W.D. & H.O. Wills, John Player & Sons, Lambert & Butler, Hignett Brothers (with their associated firms) and Stephen Mitchell & Son, with six other firms, joined forces to found the Imperial Tobacco Company, Ltd., in 1901. Churchman joined the recently formed company the following year. [3]
As the company expanded with increased sales, it opened a new facility at the junction of Portman Road and Princes Street. This factory would be extended during the 1920s and 1930s. [1] In 1961 Churchman merged with Lambert & Butler and Edwards, Ringer & Bigg, to become first "Churchman, Lambert & Ringer", then renamed simply "Churchman's" in 1965. By that year, manufacturing of cigars concentrated the factory's production, with more than 1 million cigars per day and 1,000 employees working at Churchman's. [3] [1]
In 1972, the cigar business was integrated with John Player & Sons, with Churchman's becoming a subsidiary of it. Twenty years later, JP&S moved its operations to Bristol and Churchman closed. [1]
Churchman produced several sets of cigarette cards to advertise its products, beginning in the first years of 20th century, most of them related with sports, mostly association football sets. The first football set included rugby union players and appeared in 1909, featuring illustrated footballers of both codes in their clubs' shirts. Other football sets were released in 1914, 1938 and 1939 but only related to association football. [2] Other sports series released included athletics, cricket, golf, and tennis.
Churchman also released a railway series in 1935, and an athletes series (featuring photographs of sportsmen of diverse disciplines) in 1939.
Cigarette cards are trading cards issued by tobacco manufacturers to stiffen cigarette packaging and advertise cigarette brands.
A trading card is a small card, usually made out of paperboard or thick paper, which usually contains an image of a certain person, place or thing and a short description of the picture, along with other text. There is a wide variation of different types of cards.
A baseball card is a type of trading card relating to baseball, usually printed on cardboard, silk, or plastic. In the 1950s they came with a stick of gum and a limited number of cards. These cards feature one or more baseball players, teams, stadiums, or celebrities.
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Imperial Brands plc, is a British multinational tobacco company headquartered in Bristol, England. It is the world's fourth-largest international cigarette company measured by market share after Philip Morris International, British American Tobacco, and Japan Tobacco, and the world's largest producer of fine-cut tobacco and tobacco papers.
W.D. & H.O. Wills was a British tobacco manufacturing company formed in Bristol, England. It was the first British company to mass-produce cigarettes, and one of the founding companies of Imperial Tobacco along with John Player & Sons.
Allen & Ginter was a Richmond, Virginia, tobacco manufacturing company formed by John F. Allen and Lewis Ginter around 1880. The firm created and marketed the first cigarette cards for collecting and trading in the United States. Some of the notable cards in the series include baseball players Charles Comiskey, Cap Anson, and Jack Glasscock, as well as non-athletes like Buffalo Bill Cody.
John Player & Sons, most often known simply as Player's, was a tobacco and cigarette manufacturer based in Nottingham, England. In 1901, the company merged with other companies to form The Imperial Tobacco Company to face competition from US manufacturers. The company also released several series of association football trading cards in the 1930s under the Player's brand.
Lambert & Butler is a former English tobacco manufacturing company, established in 1834 in Clerkenwell, Central London, that operated as a private business until 1901 when it merged with other UK manufacturers to form the Imperial Tobacco Company. Apart from tobacco products L&B also released several cigarette card sets from the 1910s to the 1930s. They consisted of various topics including motor cars, horsemanship, aviation, and association football.
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An American football card is a type of collectible trading card typically printed on paper stock or card stock that features one or more American football players or other related sports figures. These cards are most often found in the United States and other countries where the sport is popular.
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.
Godfrey Phillips India Ltd. (GPI) is a tobacco manufacturer headquartered in India. The firm was originally established in London in 1844. GPI was one of the first UK companies to mass-produce cigarettes, apart from being one of the founding companies of Imperial Tobacco along with John Player & Sons.
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Imperial Tobacco Canada Limited is a cigarette manufacturing company operating in Canada. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of British American Tobacco. It was created in 1908 and bought out the Canadian interests of the American Tobacco Company, which was a monopoly in the United States until it was reorganized in 1911. Imperial Tobacco Canada has had no relationship to Imperial Tobacco Group plc since 1980, though British American Tobacco was established as a joint venture between Imperial Tobacco Group and American Tobacco. Imasco sold their stake to BAT in 2000.
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An association football trading card is a type of trading card relating to association football, usually printed on cardboard, silk, or plastic. These cards feature one or more players, clubs, stadiums, or trophies. Football cards are most often found in Europe, Asia and South America.
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