Leavitt and Peirce Changes Hands, but Old Traditions Stay

Leavitt and Peirce, last remnant of the "old Harvard," changed ownership this week for the third time in 72 years, but the traditions of the "gentleman's smoke shop" will continue almost unaltered.

Following 19th century traditions, Leavitt's keeps an open tobacco tin on the counter and passes out cigars at Commencement.

The purchasers, David P. Ehrlich Co. of Boston, intend to sell Leavitt's special Cake Box tobacco, 125 brands of cigarettes, and Algerian and Meerschaum pipes, in addition to their own State House and Boston Common mixtures which date back to the days when the Common was the only public place where smoking was allowed in Boston.

The upstairs lounge with its pool tables, reminder of the days when Leavitt's pot-bellied stove provided a club-room for smokers, was closed two years ago.