Duke Homestead buys spittoon collection

DURHAM -- Another honor for Durham: The Bull City is about to become the Best Place to See a Spittoon Collection.

The state Historic Sites Division has agreed to buy a collection of 282 brass, glass and porcelain spittoons from Connecticut collector Jim Kinner, for display at the Duke Homestead State Historic Site. The price was $6,700, about half the collection's market value, the state agency said in a news release Monday.

The acquisition will make the Duke Homestead collection the nation's largest.

Spittoons became necessary in the 19th century, when many men and women made a habit of chewing tobacco and dipping snuff. Spitting on the floor was considered bad form.