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Boot Jack Tobacco

John Finzer was born on June 11, 1838 in Kapellen, Switzerland.

He immigrated to Louisville, Kentucky in 1851. He worked for

tobacco companies for several years and in 1866 he established

the Five Brothers Tobacco Works. Products included plug

tobaccos Boot Jack, Old Honesty, Jolly Tar, Pastime, and Plank

Road; and pipe tobaccos Five Brothers, Wild Rose, and Hindoo.

The five brothers in the firm were John, Benedict, Frederick, Rudolph, and

Nicholas. Finzer was located at 419 Finzer St., Louisville, Kentucky. In 1925

Hillerich & Bradsby, manufacturers of the Louisville Slugger baseball bat

purchased the building from American Tobacco Company to manufacture golf

clubs. The building is in the National Register of Historic Places.

In 1911, there was Supreme Court anti-trust case following years of tobacco price

wars and mergers / acquisitions. The American Tobacco Company was named

as one of the principle defendants, and the Finzer Brothers Tobacco Company

was a minor defendant. At some time after this case was settled, the American

Tobacco Company became the

―

successor to Finzer Brothers Tobacco Co.

‖

.

Many tobacco companies of the late 1800s used advertising products with their

company name on them for promotional purposes. Wall clocks, tobacco

pouches, tobacco tins, plug tobacco cutters, pipes, knives, post cards, etc were all

used by the Finzer Company.