Sutliff Tobacco

Sutliff Tobacco is counted among the oldest pipe tobacco concerns in the United States. According to industry profiles, it was opened by H. W. Sutliff in 1849 in San Francisco as a tobacco and cigar shop, and over time grew into a manufactory blending its own recipes.

The brand kept its corporate identity even after it passed out of the hands of the family whose name it bears, and it was known throughout the twentieth century especially for its bulk-sold blends.

From California to Virginia

The company's early years were spent in retail; according to industry sources, its true manufacturing phase began in 1933 with the launch of Mixture 79, a name still known today. This cube-cut burley-based blend quickly turned from a local product into a nationally recognized name, becoming the core product that kept the company alive for the long haul.

In 1953 the facilities and management moved to Richmond, Virginia. The reason for the move was to be closer to the tobacco leaf and cut shipping costs; Richmond was at the time one of the main centers of the American tobacco trade. Sutliff's production continued in this city for more than seventy years afterward. The factory's first form was designed largely around the manufacture of a single blend, to meet demand.