It started in the small back in the 1960's when I was sailing as an electrician in the Norwegian Mercant Navy. I was quite fascinated by the design of several cigarette packets which I found in some of the countries I visited. Selected packets ended up in drawers back home - resting in peace for years until around 1980. During a house cleaning my wife asked if she should throw away the packets - but my heart said no. I decided at that moment to start a collection of all the different packets I could lay my hands on...
To date my collection cover packets from more than 140 different countries around the world, and the packets dates from around the 1890's to present. Here you'll find all types of cigarettes and packets; a Chinese brand which claims to cure hemorrhoids, the first version of the "smokeless" cigarette from 1988 (which was relaunched in May 1996 under the name "Eclipse" in U.S.A., "Inside" in Sweden, "Hi-Q" in Germany + "R" Japan), strange looking packets made of various materials, obscure brands from long gone factories/manufacturers, and up to common brands of present day. The vast quantity of packets in my collection was (and still is) achieved through intensive exchange with collectors around the world and during my own visits to various countries.
I have also done research work regarding the history of Norwegian tobacco manufacturers/importers and their various brands/products from the 1860's until present. This again have made me "an expert" within this field - something which led to consulting services for J.L.Tiedemanns Tobaksfabrik (privileged 1778) during the fundamental work in setting up their internal tobacco museum in 1991.
I have exchanged packets with collectors in the following countries:
| 3,433 | Peoples Republic of China |
| 2,969 | Norway |
| 2,411 | Switzerland |
| 1,972 | Finland |
| 1,735 | United Kingdom |
| 1,575 | U.S.A. |
| 1,386 | E.U. |
| 1,359 | Germany (after unification Oct. 1990) |
| 1,137 | Brazil |
| 999 | Netherlands |
| 926 | Denmark |
| 730 | Sweden |
| 727 | Germany, West (1945-90) |
| 658 | Italy |
| 610 | Romania |
| 589 | Unknown |
| 555 | Australia |
| 548 | Spain |
| 537 | Belgium |
| 522 | Japan |
| 516 | Poland |
| INTERNATIONAL | ||
 |  | COMPLETE LIST OF BRANDS (as per May 30th, 2011) |
| COMPLETE LIST OF COUNTRIES (as per May 23rd, 2008) | |
| CUBA - CIGARETTE LITHOGRAPHS (great lithographs from the 19th century) | |
| | | ALBANIA (Some brands on the market) |
| | | AUSTRIA, CZECH REP., GERMANY, HUNGARY, LATVIA, POLAND, SLOVAKIA, SWEDEN & SWITZERLAND (Special cellophane wrappers & more) |
| | | CZECH REP. (Some brands on the market) |
| EGYPTIAN SAMPLES (of brands from the 1940's - or earlier) | |
| | | GERMANY (Some brands on the market) |
| | | KYRGYZ REP./KYRGYZSTAN (Some brands on the market) |
| | | MOLDOVA (Some brands on the market) |
| | | POLAND (Some brands on the market) |
| | | ROMANIAN CIGARETTE MANUFACTURERS |
| | | ROMANIA (Special cellophane wrappers & news) |
| | | RUSSIA (Some brands on the market) |
| | | SERBIA (Some brands on the market) |
| | | SLOVAKIA (Some brands on the market) |
| | | SLOVENIA (Some brands on the market) |
| | | UKRAINE (Some brands on the market) |
| SOUTH VIETNAM (mostly Bastos brands) | |
| | | DUTY FREE (Some brands on the market) |
| B.A.T. CO., LTD. (1919 export price list for West Indies, Central & South America) | |
| | | HERBAL CIGARETTES |
| JOE CAMEL (a look at some Camel Art Packs) | |
| LUCKY STRIKE (a look at some modern Lucky Strike tins) | |
| OLD JUDGE (advertising card?) | |
| A HELPING HAND (to the U.S.S.R. cigarette factories) | |
| SOME BOOKS FOR COLLECTORS | |
| | | HELP NEEDED |
| RARE CIGARETTE CARDS | |
| E.U.'s 2nd SERIES OF HEALTH WARNINGS | |
| | | PICTURE HEALTH WARNINGS IN U.S.A. FROM THE END OF 2012 |
| | | CIGARETTE PACK COLLECTORS (& other links on the net) |
| NORWAY | ||
| THIS MONTH's SELECTED PACKET (a casual selection from my collection) | |
| NORWEGIAN TOBACCO MANUFACTURERS | |
| THE POSTERS GALORE (some old cigarette posters) | |
| NEWSPAPER ADVERTISEMENTS (some cigarette ads from around 1920) | |
| NORWEGIAN NEWS (re changes on our market) | |
| THE TEDDY BRAND (the oldest cig. brand on the Norwegian market) | |
| WAR AGAINST THE TRUST (metal sign from around 1920) | |
| MODERN NORWEGIAN BRANDS (samples from the 1950s until present day) | |
| M. GLOTT's TOBAKFABRIK, 1921 (a brief history and rare photos) | |
| B.A.T. CO. (Norway) LTD. (two pages from the June 1914 price lists) | |
| HOME-GROWN TOBACCO (in Norway during World War II) | |
| CIGAR LABELS (some vintage Norwegian labels) | |
| SWEDEN | ||
 | SWEDISH CIGARETTE MANUFACTURERS | |
| SWEDISH NEWS (re changes on the market 2001 - 2005) |
Barry K. Russel, Talisker, Vines Cross Road, Horam,
Heathfield, East Sussex, TN21 0HF, England
Cigarette Pack Collectors Association
61 Searle Street, Georgetown, MA 01833, U.S.A.
CPCA's Website
