JOB (rolling papers)

Brand of cigarette paper

JOB rolling papers are a popular brand of cigarette paper produced by Republic Tobacco in Perpignan, France.

In 1838, a French craftsman named Jean Bardou came up with the idea for a booklet of rolling papers made of thin, pure rice paper. Bardou's trademark was the initials "JB" separated by a large diamond. The diamond was often mistaken for a capital O by consumers, who began referring to the papers as JOB, thus the brand name was born. By 1849 he filed for a patent for "Papier JOB". Jean Bardou died in 1852. The JOB brand was auctioned in August 1853 and bought for 16,000 francs by Jean Bardou's son Pierre Bardou. His brother Joseph Bardou had formed a separate company making "le Nil" cigarette papers, with a laughing elephant as its logo. In January 1854, Pierre began making his own paper in Perpignan. A range of flavored papers included licorice, anise, vanilla, juniper, and camphor. Careful attention to marketing included development of premium or luxury papers, with attractive boxes designed for ladies. At the end of 1858, Pierre Bardou bought a large house at 18 rue St Sauveur in Perpignan for 40,000 francs, originally an apartment building, which he divided into one area for manufacturing and another for his residence. Mucha drew a sinuous long haired goddess holding a rolled cigarette. The image was inspired by Michelangelo's Sibyls from the Sistine Chapel. The poster image was so popular that it was sold as a lithograph. In 2008, the company commissioned Stuckist artist, Paul Harvey to create a campaign series of posters with a stylistic reference to Alphonse Mucha. Harvey made works featuring famous double acts to emphasize the sales message of "The Original Double", a reference to the twin size packets of papers made by Job. Gilbert and George endorsed the images, but The Mighty Boosh and The White Stripes were not pleased to be featured. The trademarks 1.0, 1.25, 1.5 and 2.0 are property of DRL Enterprises, Inc. In June 2020, Job Rolling Papers were featured in the Hemper Monthly Box.

In the movie Maximum Overdrive, which featured Emilio Estevez being chased by 'possessed' trucks, a JOB 1.5 truck was shown as one of the key vehicles. Reptiles, a 1943 lithograph by M. C. Escher, shows a package of JOB rolling papers. In the 1981 film Nice Dreams, Tommy Chong says he has been sponsored by JOB papers. In an episode of The Office titled "Viewing Party," a poster for JOB papers can be seen on Gabe Lewis's wall. It is pointed out that the poster used to be a real french advertisement by Kelly Erin Hannon. JOB cigarette papers can be seen on the front cover of Mott The Hoople's debut album.