American Tobacco Co. - 1950's-60's dated Stock Certificate - Acquired Lucky Strike & over 200 Rival Firms

General Stock printed by American Bank Note Company. Dark, rich vignette of Indian in full headdress encircled by a tobacco field. Nice older format. Giant company. Most important! Available in Orange or Green. Please specify color.

The American Tobacco Company was established in 1890 by J.B. Duke through a merger of several U.S. tobacco manufacturers, including Allen and Ginter and Goodwin & Company. As one of the original 12 companies listed on the Dow Jones Industrial Average in 1896, the company quickly rose to dominate the tobacco industry by acquiring the Lucky Strike Company and over 200 other competitors. However, in 1911, a series of antitrust actions initiated in 1907 led to its dissolution into several major companies.

In 1969, the American Tobacco Company reorganized as a holding company named American Brands, Inc., with American Tobacco operating as a subsidiary. During the 1970s and 1980s, American Brands diversified by acquiring various non-tobacco businesses, and in 1994, it sold its tobacco operations to Brown & Williamson. The company later rebranded itself as "Fortune Brands." J.B. Duke initially entered the cigarette industry in 1879 to avoid competing against the Bull Durham brand in the shredded pouched smoking tobacco market, which was also based in Durham, North Carolina.