The Reed Tobacco Company was a subsidiary of Larus & Brother, manufacturer of the popular Edgeworth Pipe tobacco. William T. Reed was Charles Larus' nephew. As a young man Reed began working his way up the Larus ranks, becoming the company CEO when his uncle died in 1908. Edgeworth tobacco was sold internationally, and reported to be the favorite smoke of Communist Joseph Stalin. Larus had a good distribution network in place by 1907 when Reed launched Relu Cigarettes. This vast network allowed Larus/Reed to get their new Relu packs into retail stores. Newspapers were used to advertise the new brand, which gained enough of a following to continue to be made until World War II. Notice the curious price of 18 cents in the circa 1918 ad pictured below. The government raised the cigarette tax to help pay for the United States' involvement in the first World War. Reed chose to sell a full pack of 20 Relu for the odd price instead of a smaller package of 15 or 16 cigarettes to maintain the 15 cent pre-war price.