Old Mill Newspaper Advertisements

I was doing a bit of research the other day for a fellow SABR member. I saw an unrelated newspaper ad for "Chinese Baseball". While looking at that page, I found an ad for Old Mill Cigarettes.  We know them as the the cigarettes that came with the T-206 baseball cards.

The earliest ad that I found was from early March, 1910.  The cards were positioned as "Baseball pictures".  I've gathered a sampling of the ads from various states and present them in chronological order.

The Times Dispatch - Richmond, Virginia
March 2, 1910

Daily Public Ledger - Maysville, Kentucky
April 8, 1910

Daily Public Ledger - Maysville, Kentucky
June 10, 1910

Daily Public Ledger - Maysville, Kentucky
June 17, 1910

Daily Public Ledger - Maysville, Kentucky
June 24, 1910

In Texas, the ad copy varies.  They are featuring "Texas League baseball pictures".

Palestine Daily Herald - Palestine, Texas
September 12, 1910

El Paso Herald - El Paso, Texas
October 18, 1910

In Honolulu, they drop the ad copy, but continue to show the picture of the pack with the cards.

Evening Bulletin - Honolulu, Territory of Hawai'i
July 20, 1911

Evening Bulletin - Honolulu, Territory of Hawai'i
August 17, 1911

There probably are other examples showing various sporting or manly type activities.  Although women are featured in some of the ads, they are not shown smoking.

This is not a 'new' find.  Guys on the Net 54 Vintage Baseball Card Forum were discussing this in December of 2008.

UPDATE: I found a site, jimonym.com, that has 26 different Old Mill ads.  There is nothing new under the sun.

images from the Library of Congress's Chronicling America - Historic American Newspapers