Whimsy touches tobacco shop

The Milford Tobacco Shop, at 2017 Bridgeport Ave., has all of the right touches, including the wooden cigar-store American Indian guarding the display cases.

But it's details beyond what you'd expect to find that makes Luzanne McCollough's year-old business fascinating, even for non-smokers. There is the Civil War memorabilia, including soldiers' letters home, the lead "minie balls" that were fired from their smooth-bore rifles and a replica of the small pistol that killed President Abraham Lincoln.

These items take up several glass cabinets in what might be called the 19th-century gallery of McCollough's personal museum, which also includes programs from Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show, photos of its star Annie Oakley and authentic stagecoach tickets for a line that operated in western Montana and Wyoming.

There are Egyptian and pre-Colombian artifacts that McCullough said she collected in her travels or acquired from museums that were selling off the smaller or less-valuable items in their collections. Programs from Worlds Fairs dating to the 1876 Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia form another part of her collection.

A Milford native and a graduate of Lauralton Hall and Endicott College, McCullough said that she wasn't particularly interested in history when she was in school. She said it was only after she began touring Civil War battlefields with a friend that she became fascinated with that era.

Her store carries cigars from around the world, including exotic, brandy-infused rarities that can sell for as much as $15. The humidors are stocked with all kinds of cigars, including those made with Connecticut broadleaf wrappers. There also are vintage cigar boxes from the 19th century.

About half of her business is tobacco-related, McCullough said. She also cuts keys and sends and receives faxes for customers.

Her sense of whimsy can be seen throughout the spacious store. There is a mannequin of Elvis Presley from his Las Vegas period of white jumpsuits with sequins. McCullough found him on eBay, and she buys and sells antiques and collectibles through her site, www.rothchildeantiques.com.

"My friends used to say that my house looked like a museum, and now my store looks like my house," she joked.