Smokers' Haven Pedigree Smoking Mixture - Full 14oz Vintage Tin (c. 1950s-60s)

YouTube video showcasing actual tin listed here: https://youtu.be/mZ5pRMnvwgY

Friends,
In the years after the War, when pipe smoke curled through barbershops, college commons, and quiet den rooms, there was one name in Columbus, Ohio that pipe men trusted above all: Smokers’ Haven. Opened in 1947, it became a mecca for those seeking blends every bit as fine as the great English mixtures.

Among its earliest and most beloved creations was Pedigree Smoking Mixture. Not merely a name, but a tobacco with true breeding. In the 1940s, founder Joe Zieve wanted a house mixture that echoed his favorite St. Louis blend, Brush Creek. When the maker declined, he turned to the House of Windsor (Red Lion Tobacco Co.), who crafted Pedigree to his exacting standard. Thus was born a blend with a genuine lineage – one of Smokers’ Haven’s first great signatures.

Pedigree is an American-English mixture, built on mellow Kentucky Burley enriched by the rich savor of Syrian Latakia, rounded with select Virginia and other fine tobaccos. Smokers’ Haven described it as “cool and mild… slow burning and dry smoking” – a comfortable mixture that “fits like that old pair of slippers or your favorite chair.” Its appeal was universal: for the novice, a friendly beginning; for the seasoned smoker, a dependable companion bowl after bowl.

This example is a full 14oz shop tin, heavy in the hand and untouched since the Eisenhower years. Its address reads “Columbus 15, Ohio” – a pre-ZIP code postal zone marking, dating it squarely to the mid-1950s into the early 1960s. The bold black-and-red livery, with its proud spaniel silhouette, remains a striking presence – and inside lies tobacco blended when Syrian Latakia was still plentiful and Burley ruled American pipes.

Large tins like this rarely survived unopened. They were meant to be scooped from daily, companions to an easy chair and radio, not sealed away for posterity. Yet here it stands – a survivor of the mid-century American pipe era.

Imagine it: the glow of a Philco console, the ring of a rotary phone, a well-worn briar in hand, and the Pedigree of a fine tobacco filling the room. This is more than leaf in a tin – it is Pipe Appeal at its very finest.

Details:
-Brand: Smokers’ Haven (Columbus, OH)
-Blend: Pedigree Smoking Mixture
-Manufacturer: Contract blended by House of Windsor (Red Lion Tobacco Co.)
-Weight: 14 ounces (full, factory packed)
-Era: c. 1950s–60s (pre-ZIP “Columbus 15, Ohio” tin)
-Blend Notes (from period literature):
• Mild, with the taste of Kentucky Burley and Latakia
• Slow-burning medium rough cut for a cool smoke
• Dry-smoking to the very end, leaving a powder-dry ash
-Tin Condition: Strong color and legible print; lid with key intact; minor storage wear consistent with age
-Rarity: Full 14oz tins of Smokers’ Haven blends are exceptionally scarce – empty tins occasionally appear, but unopened survivors are almost never seen
-Collectibility: Highly sought among vintage tobacciana collectors; a true mid-century time capsule

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