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1880s Kinney Bros. “Leaders” Premium Album – Volume III – Lithographed Edition – VG
These Kinney Brothers premium albums were obtainable only by mail as top prizes from Kinney Cigarettes, making them popular among collectors of early tobacco advertising. This is an original Kinney Bros. “Leaders” Premium Album – Volume III (approx. 6" x 8") featuring full-page, richly colored chromolithographed portraits of major world figures from history.
Subjects include George Washington, Napoleon Bonaparte, Martha Washington, Julius Caesar, Joan of Arc, Catherine II, Lord Nelson, and many others — images printed directly on the pages as originally issued. (This is the version with lithographed pages, nota pasted-card type.)
History
This album is well-documented in the hobby as ACC A54, associated with the Kinney N222 “Leaders” insert card series (c. 1888–1890). These premium albums were earned by mailing cigarette-pack coupons — collectors would save coupons found inside Kinney cigarette brands such as Sweet Caporal and redeem them for this deluxe booklet. As a top-tier premium never distributed in packs, far fewer examples survived than the insert cards themselves.
Kinney Brothers Tobacco Co. was one of the major U.S. cigarette manufacturers of the 1880s. In 1890, the firm was merged into the American Tobacco Company trust along with Allen & Ginter, Goodwin, and others — marking the end of the independent Kinney Bros. name.
The chromolithography in this Volume III album highlights notable world leaders and military figures. This example retains excellent visual appeal inside and represents an attractive, authentic survivor of an important 19th-century tobacco premium issue.
