In the recent past, Chesterfield cigarettes were one of the most famous and favored cigarette brands in the United States. Proudly named after Virginia’s county of the same name, Philip Morris, in its incarnation as Altria, is the manufacturer of this brand. Chesterfield non filtered cigarettes at one point in time used to be the quintessential smoke of the American man and woman, and it is a bit of a head-scratcher to take a good look at this brand that somehow quietly, gently, and without a lot of fanfare went by the wayside. For all intents and purposes, the Chesterfield cigarette is now defunct in the United States, but it is still being manufactured and sold in Europe where it is considered to be quite popular.

Cheap Chesterfield cigarettes were once a major player in the postwar black market, and one cigarette would fetch much needed money, showcasing the popularity of this American brand. When you take a look at the celebrities and Hollywood entertainers who favored Chesterfield regular cigarettes, you are looking at a list of names that is the essential who’s who of the entertainment industry of the early 20th century. Frank Sinatra, Humphrey Bogart, Lucille Ball – who was actually once known as a model and Chesterfield Girl - and Rod Serling were among those who sported the Chesterfield cigarette onscreen and off, while James Dean, tragic teen idol and up and coming actor in his own right, is now prominently depicted with an ever present Chesterfield cigarette in his hand and pack rolled up in his t-shirt sleeve.

In Time magazine, Chesterfield cigarette ads were part and parcel of the advertising landscape, and billboards and television ads as well as radio commercials ensured that the Chesterfield cigarette was always in the minds of listeners, viewers, and readers. Sponsorships of major programs such as Dragnet and others were highly popular and it is surprising that such a powerhouse would suddenly, and seemingly quietly, go by the wayside. In part to blame were the new brands as well as the new marketing efforts of other brands that cleverly changed their demographics to include a younger audience, while not even stopping short of handing out stickers, t-shirts, and creating cartoon characters. Yet the other part of the equation may simply be that the Chesterfield era, at least in America, has passed. Just like avocado green shag carpeting is no longer in vogue, this cigarette might have been gradually overtaken by newer and different tastes.