Duke of Durham Cigarettes were introduced in 1881. This was the first cigarette produced by W. Duke Sons and Company. During the late 1860's and throughout the 1870's, this pioneer tobacco manufacturer made Pro Bono Publico and Duke of Durham Smoking Tobacco. Both of these tobacco brands competed against arch rival Bull Durham, and faired poorly. When James "Buck" Duke, the youngest son of company founder Washington Duke, took charge of manufacturing, he decided that cigarettes were the company's future. Buck convinced a large number of experienced hand-rollers living in New York City to move to North Carolina. These mostly eastern European Jewish immigrants made over nine million Duke of Durham cigarettes the first year of production. The early light-weight paper pack in use at the time offered little protection for these fragile hand-rolled cigarettes. By 1886 the paper packet had given way to the more costly 'slide & shell' style, an improvement for which Buck received a US patent. The added protection of the heavier cardboard helped distinguish Duke of Durham from other brands. Besides being an astute businessman, Buck was a visionary, and he gambled that a machine-made cigarette could be as popular as one that was hand rolled. The new Bonsack Cigarette Making Machine had been turned down by other manufacturers because it didn't work well. When James Bonsack offered his machine to Buck, it was accepted, improved, and a contract was negotiated that allowed W. Duke, Sons & Company to always pay less royalties for its use than other cigarette manufacturers. This allowed Buck to mass produce and sell his cigarettes for less money. Buck Duke used this leverage to help force his competitors into a merger or selling out to him. Pictured below are four early 'hand-rolled' brands that were made in the US.