Volume 5–2.pdf - U&lc

14
THE CIGAR
BOX LABEL
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IJ LA- V A L
There is romance in collecting
mementos of a bygone age.
Even the quaint illustration on an
old cigar box label can evoke sentiments
of a time that has long
passed into dust. The labels in my
collection, like beautiful memories
of my own, breathe life into magical
myths. They are illustrated
with circuses and other pleasures;
great adventures starring cowboys,
warriors, Indian chiefs and
dashing heroes ;or, innocent babes,
alluring ladies, handsome youths.
All of the lore that is America.
Sprinkled among these purely fanciful
subjects are some that come
closer to real history-Lindy's Trans-
Atlantic crossing, deeds of presidents,
railroading, shipping, certain
battles and so on. Perhaps the most
common subjects on cigar labels
are portraits. Portraits of generals,
politicians or stars. It sometimes
seems that anyone could have,
and did have, his portrait on a cigar
named in his own dubious honor.
The cigar industry boomed
around the turn of the century
when there were already 350,000
registered brands. Brand-names
were fantastic. My two favorites
are Pee Wee (a boy urinating) and
Nun Nicer (a novitiate of the
church). Typography was equally
fantastic and all labels were lavish
in color-as many as twenty colors
printed separately from lithograph
stones might have been used for
a single label. Most have detailed
embossing, gold embellishment,
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1088110 RANDOLPH-S.
and textured paper which adds par-
ticular elegance, all of which make
them among the most desirable of
collectibles today. While the labels
measure no more than 6" x 8" they
often have the impact of a much
larger poster.
The printing companies which
made labels were specialists who
had pride in their work. The Chroma-
tic Printing Co. of Philadelphia speci-
alizing in"ornamental label printing"
claimed, in 1879, their work was
"unrivalled for cheapness, execution
and despatch ...work in five colors
ready to deliver the same day as
commenced: The making of cigar
labels seems to have challenged
the dedication of a commercial
industry by insisting upon artistic
integrity and that in turn brought
special dignity to the product. Its
effect was apparently so substan-
tial that the same tradition of artis-
tic excellence continues today. Cigar
boxes are still among the most
attractive of advertising displays.
Cigars have inspired not only
artists and advertisers but poets.
These lines are from a poem by Rud-
yard Kipling entitled The Betrothed:
"There's peace in a Larranaga, there's
calm in a Henry Clay;
But the best cigar in an hour is finished
and thrown away-
Maggie has written a letter to give me
my choice between
The wee little whimpering Love and
the great god Nick O'Teen:'
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