Goodwin & Company


Goodwin & Company was an American tobacco manufacturer from New York City. Initially E. Goodwin and Brother, the company was founded before the American Civil War. It was known for its cigarette brands "Gypsy Queen" and "Old Judge". In 1890, the company was merged, along with four others, into James Buchanan Duke's American Tobacco Company to create an American monopoly on tobacco product manufacturing and retail.
Charles Goodwin Emery, who had the principal interest in Goodwin & Company, became Treasurer of the American Tobacco Company. Emery built a showplace "castle" known as Calumet Castle at the Thousand Islands and was principal investor in the grand New Hotel Frontenac nearby.
The company's tobacco trading cards, depicting baseball players, other athletes, and a variety of social scenes and portraits are collectibles. In 1887, Goodwin & Co. were among the first to issue trading cards to promote their brands, first using sepia-toned photographic albumen prints, and later chromolithographic reproductions of multi-colored etchings.
In 2011, Upper Deck Company reactivated the Goodwin Champions line, primarily to compete with Topps' revival of the Allen & Ginter brand. Similar to the original Goodwin Champions set, the revived line primarily features athletes from various American sports.

Card sets