Picked this up at the last Newark fair. The Stockport company R & J Lea were founded in 1865 and based 45, Market St and Broughton Lane, Manchester. There famous brands were "Chairman" - "Vice Chair" - "Tournament" - "Recorder" etc etc. Taken over by John Sinclair in 1937. I thought this A.Bs tin unusual as it is live and contains 30 cigarettes. They must be very small indeed a couple of puffs and that is it. Late 1920s

Question for Planesman as ex: RN. Is there a Naval term/slang beginning with A.Bs??

bacco

 

 

Hi Bacco. In the RN you start off life as an A.B. (Able Rate). So, as with a lot of tobacco/cigarette items, it's a play on the fact that they use Navy cut tobacco. I like it, not just because of the Navy association, but I'm also from Manchester.