Catch the Express Train! – A Great Tobacco Label

Those artists at Clay & Cossack in Buffalo sure did love color. They pushed the color limit both in intensity and with the use of unusual color combinations. At the same time they recognized how beautiful a clean and brightly painted locomotive looked, and they used the train imagery to full advantage. The Express, with a view of a train hurtling across a rural landscape, would further indicate progress, superiority and the triumph of American technology, all of which would make buyers feel good.Clay & Cossack was one of a number of lithographic business combinations that Hugh M. Clay worked in Buffalo, New York. The name Clay & Cossack lasted from 1868 to 1877, and was located at 251 Washington Street. One of the top firms in the city, Clay kept his name on the company sign until 1886.A box of chewing tobacco was smaller than a scrap tobacco crate, and more expensive. Wholesale tobacco buyers, who would distribute boxes of this kind to tobacconist shops and general stores, must have known that good tobacco companies would produce handsome advertising. It was important to have a striking and attractive box label to compete in a busy market. But, it is still a surprise to me how much trouble they went to in the production of these amazing images, just to sell a box of leaf.