J. Finzer and Brothers Company

J. Finzer and Brothers Company, originally Five Brothers Tobacco Works, was a tobacco business in Louisville, Kentucky. The business was established in 1866 by the five Finzer brothers: John, Benjamin, Frederick, Rudolph, and Nicholas.^[1] The company's historic warehouse building was constructed in 1900 at 419 Finzer Street. The warehouse is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and was also used as Stewarts Dry Goods Warehouse^[2] and more recently was renovated to become the Lofts of Broadway.

History[edit]

The brothers were born in the Canton Berne, Switzerland. They came to the U.S. and learned to make plug tobacco at Louisville's tobacco factories.^[3]

Benjamin died in 1875 and Frederick died in 1883. Rudolph Finzer withdrew from the firm in 1882, leaving John and Nicholas to run the company.^[3]

Known for quality products and with good relations to area businessmen, the brothers built up the business and incorporated in 1882. The capital stock of the company was $200,000 and it manufactured about 4,000,000 pounds of plug tobacco annually as well as 1,000,000 pounds of smoking tobacco.^[3]

A fire destroyed their factory in 1880, it was rebuilt in 1882,^[3] and the warehouse constructed later in 1900.

Product line[edit]

The Finzers sold Burley leaf tobacco in sixteen-ounce plugs of navy tobacco. Their other brands included Jolly Tar, Five Brothers, and Pastime. The company published The Tobacconist, a trade paper.^[3] and used various promotions and advertising campaigns to market their wares. The business was acquired by American Tobacco Company shortly after the start of the 20th century.^{[citation needed]}

References[edit]

^ The Encyclopedia of Louisville Page 885 John E. Kleber - 2001
^ "J. Finzer and Brothers Company Building - Louisville, Kentucky". Archived from the original on 2013-07-09. Retrieved 2013-07-09.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e The city of Louisville and a glimpse of Kentucky by Young Ewing Allison, 1887

v t e U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Topics	Architectural style categories Contributing property Historic district History of the National Register of Historic Places Keeper of the Register National Park Service Property types
Lists by state	List of U.S. National Historic Landmarks by state: Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming
Lists by insular areas	American Samoa Guam Minor Outlying Islands Northern Mariana Islands Puerto Rico Virgin Islands
Lists by associated state	Federated States of Micronesia Marshall Islands Palau
Other areas	District of Columbia American Legation, Morocco
Related	National Historic Preservation Act Historic Preservation Fund List of jails and prisons on the National Register of Historic Places University and college buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places portal Category

History[edit]

Product line[edit]

References[edit]

Further reading[edit]