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Sol Coleman
Memphis Entrepreneur
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Cigars and Ko Ko Tulu Chewing Gum
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Dave
French, one-third of the Historic-Memphis.com team, came across this
clever bit of vintage Memphis advertising on eBay. It was for
"Sol Coleman, Manufacturer and Importer." The card was
"mechanical". When you pushed the little white button in the
center, the picture in the frame changed to a picture of a different
family member.
Dave
was intrigued by this bit of humor, bid on the item and won
it. Now, the decision was where would it fit on the website?
And who was Sol Coleman and what business was he in? We have now
found out quite a bit about this enterprising man who came to
prominence in 1868.
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Click on small
photos to see an enlargement |
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Sol
Coleman came to Memphis in the mid 1850s, and worked as a
traveling salesman, During this occupation he had become
familiar with all the Memphis commercial territory and made
many acquaintances and friendships. In 1865 he
established a small cigar business and manufactured the famous
Ross Concha cigar. With his wonderful knowledge of
advertising, he built up a successful business and for a
number of years had one of the largest wholesale and retail
cigar business in the South. He made money and knew how
to spend it. His first Cigar shop was
located at 316 Main and then he moved to 295 Main in 1899.
Some articles show his address as 326 Main - perhaps a typo?. |
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Sol Coleman |
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Vintage Cigar
Ad |
1877 Ad |
Scimitar 1891 |
Free Lance 1894 |
Son - Harry |
Obit |
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Sol
Coleman's address has been verified in the Memphis Directories
from 1879 to 1899 as 316 Main and from 1899 to 1913 at 295
Main.
Sol was Director of the German Bank, the Manhattan Bank, the
New South Land Co, and President of the Teutonia Building Loan
Association.
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| 1872-Elec
Lights |
1881 Ad |
1889 Article |
Interior
Cigar Palace |
1901 Article |
1907 Article |
1908 Article |
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This
building is located at 9 S. Main. Before the street
numbers changed to North and South Main in 1905, the number was
295 Main. Sol Coleman has been verified in this building
from the Memphis Directories in 1899 and he continued to
do business here until his death in 1913. After his death
Hirsch and Slager Cigars took over this building. So that
would date this photo to circa 1914. Today this building
would be near Madison. Look at the name on the window
behind the cotton bale and you'll see "The Pastime". This
is not the Pastime Theatre, but a Billiard Parlor located on the
2nd floor. |
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"Book of Three States: Notable men of Mississippi,
Arkansas, and Tennessee"
This
book and the photo of Sol Coleman on the right were published by
the Commercial Appeal in 1914 after his 1913 death.
He had been scheduled to be prominently featured in the book,
but rather than remove him after his death, the CA left the
photo in place and added the tribute printed below: |
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No
man was better friend, nor more generous foe. Looking
always on the bright side, he felt that behind the clouds
the sun was still shining/ that into each life some rain
must fall. His home life was perfect; married to Miss
Hannah Phillips in October, 1876, together they found the
flowers of life and the green woods where the elves and
fairies of love and happiness danced. Discouragement
never put one wrinkle on his happy face. Misfortune
never triumphed for one single day. He enjoyed life's
blessings and did not go down before its obstacles. A
power in more than local financial circles, a leader in the
world of art and literature, standing high in
Masonic ranks, and esteemed as one of the most public
spirited and valuable citizens of Memphis, he was |
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also one of the least ostentatious. The world has held
few men like him, and is better for his having lived.
Success in highest form was his; friends were legion;
children and grandchildren blessed his home yet when the
last summons came he answered without a murmur for that was
his creed, "The Will of God." |
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KO-KO TULU Chewing Gum
In
addition to this and running the Cigar business. Sol Coleman manufactured a
very famous chewing gum of this period - KO KO TULU Chewing
Gum. It was popular all over the country. He
created great advertising campaigns for the gum, including the
introduction of "trading cards". Coleman
registered a patent in 1885. The name was never
explained. |
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Extremely rare 1890's box Sol
Coleman's Ko-Ko Tulu Chewing Gum |
Lowenstein's Ad |
Poster |
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Poster |
Trading Cards |
Gum Cabinet - Store Display |
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<
This
unique Poster shows a "foreign" young lady. The copy reads
"Ask for Sol Coleman's celebrated Ko Ko Tulu Chewing Gum - THE
STANDARD OF THE WORLD. This would indicate that the
chewing gum had moved into the International market.
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<
An 1880s letter from Sol Coleman showing his address at
316 Main. |
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1908 advertising Blotter
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1889 Ad. |
1901 Billhead |
1887 Ko Ko Tulu Gum Ad
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1910 Collectible |
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1881 Sol Coleman Billhead |
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Credits |
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The
Historic-Memphis website does not intentionally post copyrighted
photos and material without permission or credit.
On
occasion a "non-credited" photo might possibly be posted because we
were unable to find a name to give credit. Because of the nature of
our non-commercial, non-profit, educational website, we strongly
believe that these photos would be considered "Fair Use. We have
certainly made no monetary gain, although those using this website
for historic or Genealogy research have certainly profited. If by
chance,
we have posted your copyrighted photo, please contact us, and we'll
remove it immediately, or we'll add your credit if that's your
choice. In the past, we have found that many photographers
volunteer to have their works included on these pages and we'll
also do that if you contact us with a photo that fits a particular
page. |
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The "Historic-Memphis" website would like to acknowledge and thank the
following for their contributions which helped make this website
possible:
Memphis
Public Library, Memphis University Library, Memphis Law Library,
Memphis Commercial Appeal, Memphis Press Scimitar, Shelby County
Register of Deeds, Memphis City Schools, Memphis Business Men's
Club, Memphis Chamber of Commerce, Memphis City Park Commission,
Memphis Film Commision, Carnival Memphis, Memphis Historical
Railroad Page, Memphis Heritage Inc, Beale Street Historic District,
Cobblestone Historic District, Memphis Historic Districts, Vance
Lauderdale Family Archives, Tennessee State Archives, Library of
Congress, Kemmons Wilson Family, Richard S. Brashier, Lee Askew,
George Whitworth, Woody Savage and many individuals whose assistance is
acknowledged on the pages of their contributions. Special
thanks to Memphis Realtor, Joe Spake, for giving us carte blanche
access to his outstanding collection of contemporary Memphis photos.
We do not have high definition copies of the photos on these
pages. If anyone wishes to secure high definition photos,
you'll have to contact the photographer or the collector.
(To avoid any possibility of contributing to SPAM, we do not
maintain a file of email addresses for anyone who contacts us). |
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