Common 20th Century Artifacts – A Guide to Dating – Cigarettes

 

Historical archaeologists and others trying to date historical sites by means of the artifacts found on them are increasingly interested in common items manufactured during the lifetimes of people still living. This dating guide is intended to provide a simple source for the most common artifacts found in archaeological or historic contexts.

Cathy Spude compiled the following dating information for use by the public and professionals.

• Aluminum Foil
• Bottles, General
• Bottles, Beer
• Cans, General
• Cans, Beer
• Cigarettes
• Closures, Bottle
• Plastics and Synthetics
• Other Artifacts
• References Cited

Cigarettes

(For additional dates and history, see the Cigarette History compiled by Michael Pfeiffer)

1850’s: Widespread use during the Crimean War (Encyclopedia Britannica 1973 (5): 767-768).

1853: First manufactured in Havana (Encyclopedia Britannica 1973 (5): 767-768).

1853-1900: Cigarettes handmade (Encyclopedia Britannica 1973 (5): 767-768).

1860’s – 1880’s: Patents for machines to make cigarettes. Not used widely until 1880’s (Encyclopedia Britannica 1973 (5): 767-768).

1920: Cigarette consumption equaled cigars (Encyclopedia Britannica 1973 (5): 767-768).

1938: Half of all tobacco consumption was in cigarette form (Encyclopedia Britannica 1973 (5): 767-768).

Ca. 1942: Deletion of green coloring behind Lucky Strike bulls-eye (Sacharow 1978: 20).

1950: Three-fourths of all tobacco consumption was in cigarettes (Encyclopedia Britannica 1973 (5): 767-768).

1952: 1.4% of all cigarettes had filters (Encyclopedia Britannica 1973 (5): 767-768).

1960: 80% of all tobacco consumption was in cigarettes (Encyclopedia Britannica 1973 (5): 767-768).

1964: Surgeon General’s Advisory Committee found link between cigarettes and lung cancer (Encyclopedia Britannica 1973 (5): 767-768).

1966: Surgeon General’s warning appears on tobacco products (Encyclopedia Britannica 1973 (22): 46-47).

1969: Introduction of the disposable cigarette lighter (Pfeiffer 2002).

1970: 33% of all cigarettes had filters (Encyclopedia Britannica 1973 (5): 767-768).

1971: Health warning appears on all tobacco products (Encyclopedia Britannica 1973 (22): 46-47).