1930s-1940s Ogden’s St Julien Cutter NAAFI Tin — Sealed and Bulging gem from WWII Era!

Offered here is a perfectly sealed and bulging WWII Era Ogden’s St Julien cutter top tin, retaining its illustrated paper label, removable metal knife lid, and the embossed inscription “NAAFI STORES FOR H.M. FORCES.” Total weight of tin is 7 ounces!!!

This is a tin with an old English pipeman’s kind of character.

Set it beside a favourite briar, a leather tobacco pouch, and a few old pipe catalogues, and it looks thoroughly at home. The tall cylindrical shape, the elaborate St Julien lettering, the little grape clusters and leaves, the practical metal lid—everything about it gives the eye something to enjoy.

Then you turn it over and find the NAAFI marking.

That is where the story opens out.

Picture a British service canteen in the early 1940s. A mug of char on the counter. Greatcoats over chair backs. Somebody reading a letter from home while another fellow complains about the weather as though the War Office might reasonably be expected to do something about it. There is talk of leave, the next posting, and all the things a chap intends to do when he finally gets back to Civvy Street.

NAAFI—the Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes—was part of that everyday service world. Established in 1920 and operating from 1921, it provided shops, canteens, and other services for the armed forces.

Ogden’s, meanwhile, had been getting on with business in Liverpool for a very long time.

Thomas Ogden began his tobacconist business at 54 Park Lane in 1859–60. A factory followed in St James Street in 1868, and the expanding concern eventually moved into its substantial Boundary Lane premises in 1899. The surviving office building still carries the Ogden’s name beneath its clock tower—a rather more permanent business card than most firms manage. The company passed to Imperial Tobacco in 1902.

That history gives the label some substance. Here is a name that had grown up with Liverpool’s tobacco trade, carried through changing ownership, and appeared among the brands supplied to Britain’s forces.

The real treat is what has been patiently waiting inside. Some of the finest aged tobacco, perfectly married with notes of Ylang-ylang, rose, bergamot, sweet orange, clove, nutmeg, vanilla extract, vanillin, musk compounds and civet extract. I can only imagine how fragrant and tasty this blend is! For the historically minded pipe enthusiast, it is an intriguing trip to the war years that simply cannot be recreated today.

“EXQUISITE COOL AND FRAGRANT.” Those old advertising men were economical with their words.

Few treasures like this remain in the wild. Don't miss this opportunity for a once in a lifetime smoke!

Happy bidding and swell smokes!


DETAILS

- Brand: Ogden’s St Julien Tobacco.
- Condition: Perfectly sealed and bulging with pressure
- Date: Late 1930s–early 1940s
- Service inscription:“NAAFI STORES FOR H.M. FORCES.”
- Total Weight: 7 ounces
- Included: Sealed tin and lid only. Pipe, lighter, pouch, and other photographic accessories are not included.

This auction contains tobacco.  If you live in certain states, you will be unable to purchase this product.