Now here is a unique stock to be found an American soil! Number 92024 for 1,000 pounds in 1964. Pain with title in a black box. The American Tobacco Company (ATC) set aside a massive 30 million dollars to buy up British tobacco companies one by one at the start of the 20th century. The key figure was James Buchanan Duke, head of ATC, whose aggressive methods had created a virtual monopoly for the company in the US. Individually, British companies, even those of the size of WD & HO Wills and John Player & Sons, could not survive. When Duke arrived in Liverpool in 1901, he walked into Ogden's factory and bought on the spot. Duke then approached other British companies and is reported to have burst in on the Player brothers, saying: "Hello, boys. I'm Duke from New York, come to take over your business." He was politely shown the door, an experience repeated at other companies. Facing such resistance, he paused for reflection. And with this pause, 13 family-run businesses, led by Wills, Players and Lambert & Butler, time to meet and, in December 1901, The Imperial Tobacco Company (Great Britain and Ireland) Limited was formed. [imperialbrandsplc.]Date: 1964Country (if not USA): United KingdomState: City: Provenance: Ken Prag Collection