The Tale of The Cigar Box Label

The story of the Cigar Box Label is a remarkable one. It goes back over 150 years and obviously coincides with the popularity of cigar smoking. During the 19th century, the popularity of cigars were at their peak. In fact, cigar factories were in every state of the union. Cigars were more popular than cigarettes and just about everyone smoked.

It’s hard to believe by the turn of the 19^th century there were over 5 billion cigars sold in the U.S. That was 125 cigars for every man woman and child in the U.S..

As the cigar popularity grew, the cigar box labels became more elaborate, trying to capture the attention of the customer. Here is a short story of the Cigar Box Label told in a unique way.

Uncle Sam and Miss Liberty

With July coming I couldn’t  decide on which cigar label subject to write about next. My son suggested that I write about “Uncle Sam” to commemorate Independence Day. Okay, why didn’t I think of that!  So in honor of my son and to celebrate our nations birthday, let’s take a look at how  “Uncle Sam”  and “Miss Liberty” were portrayed on cigar box labels.

Without a doubt, “Uncle Sam” is the most recognized symbol for the United States. From the earliest days of a young America he has stood for freedom and strength.

The name “Uncle Sam” originated during the war of 1812. During this time, a contractor by the name of  Elbert Anderson was a major purchaser of  provisions for the Army. As the story goes, one of his inspectors, Samuel Wilson, was in charge of inspecting the meat purchased for the government .The initials of  the United States (U.S) was not familiar to Wilson’s workmen, so they tried to guess what they meant. One joking fellow answered, “It must stand for his boss, Uncle Sam”. The joke soon spread, and it was not long before the initials of the United States were regarded as “Uncle Sam”.

After the civil war, the country was in desperate need of ideas to help unify America. “Uncle Sam” was fast becoming the most pervasive symbol of the United States, appearing in newspapers and other publications where he was immediately plagiarized.  An old familiar face, wearing the color of America’s flag, made for another “eye catching”  image to use on the cigar box labels.

Often seen with cigars spread across the globe, it cemented the idea of a ‘Prosperous Nation’ in the subconscious of Americans.

“Uncle Sam” usually wore a white top hat with stars on a blue band, and red and white striped trousers.

In addition, to “Uncle Sam” – a female personification of the United States, was modeled after the Statue of Liberty, becoming “Miss “Columbia” and “Miss Liberty”.  Her patriotic portrait was an instant success on the cigar box label. “Miss Liberty” was dressed in a long flowing gowns of  red. white and blue, usually holding an American flag or shield.

While the image of “Uncle Sam” and “Miss Liberty” have evolved over the years, their continuous use shows that these symbols helped to sell cigars.  And why not, “Uncle Sam” and “Miss Liberty” remain powerful symbols for… One Nation, Justice and Liberty for all.

Theatre and Film in Cigar Box Labels

Far fetched?  Many of you may think it’s odd to associate theater and film to cigar box labels. Actually there has been a symbiotic relationship between the cigar industry and the entertainment world that stretches from the late 1800’s up to present day.

Let me explain.  As far back as the 1870’s cigar box labels portrayed actors and actresses. If you remember, cigar smoking was a status symbol for the ‘Upper Class’ and one of the elite’s favorite past times was going to the theater.  Many towns across America had opera houses as their focal point for social activities. Gentlemen and Ladies could be found patronizing theaters and mingling in the lounges. The genteel, while enjoying a good cigar, would chat about the play, and applaud their favorite actors.

Aware of this social behavior, Cigar Manufacturers shrewdly used celebrities to endorse their products and help boost sales. Being seen with a cigar of one your favorite actors was good business for all involved.  There were many actors and actresses that graced the inside of cigar box lids.  Used as min-billboard for the  “who’s who”  of the rich and famous. It gave well-to-do men and women something to blather about.

Below is a  cigar box label from the 1870’s depicting 5 famous stage actresses of their day.

Julia Marlow – American Actress 1868 ‘Taming of the Shrew’ and ‘Romeo & Juliet’

Ellen Terry – English Shakespearean Actress 1865 ‘The Winters Tale’

Elenora Duse – Italian Actress 1870 – Was an innovator of a technique described as ‘Elimination of Self’ to connect with a character & allow expression to occur.

Gabrielle Rejane – French Actress  1868 ‘Zaza’

Agnes Sorma – German Actress 1863 – ‘Hamlet’ and ‘Othello’

As theatre turned to vaudeville which eventually turned to silent film, actors and actresses continued to grace the Cigar Box label.

Lillian Russell – Actress/Opera singer 1881 ‘Pirates of Penzance’

William Gillette – Actor/Playwright/Director – 1894 ‘Sherlock Holmes’

Katy Barry –  Comedic Actress Vaudeville  1902 ‘A Chinese Honeymoon’

Ollie Mack – Comedian Vaudeville/Burlesque  1904

John Drew – Theatre Manager/actor 1865 – Great-great grandfather of Drew Barrymoore

John Barrymore – Silent Film Actor 1920 ‘Dr. Jeckyll Mr. Hyde’

Rudolph Valentino – Silent Film Actor 1921 ‘The Shiek’

Douglas Fairbanks – Silent Film Actor 1922 ‘Thief of Bagdad’, ‘Robinn Hood’

Tom Mix – 1940 Cowboy Matinee Film Star

Melodrama – The cigar box label pays homage to the theatre

Motion Pictures are still using allusions from the past that could also be found on the Cigar Box label. In fact, it would be behoove motion picture studios to study vintage cigar box labels. There is endless symbolism, history, and famous people that might make for a good script.

Today, despite the negative connotation of smoking, many actors/directors  grace the covers of cigar related advertisement. Could this be due to the tradition of actors associating themselves with cigars or the status it portrays to the sophisticated upper class?

Native Americans in Cigar Label Advertising

It’s ironic,  Native American cigar box labels are some of the most beautiful, colorful and detailed images ever created in advertising. They are definitely highly collectible. However, I have  come to the conclusion that the cigar industry  exploited the native Americans.  Being that  I have some Choctaw blood, I was dismayed to learn how cigar labels helped to stereotype the American Indian.

Images of Native Americans have always been connected with the sale of tobacco. This connection can be traced back to when the American Indians introduced the “Native Plant” to the Europeans.  For the Native American, tobacco had great supernatural power, and smoking was an intimate part of ceremony. Furthermore, nothing could better exemplify the symbolic nature of the Native American peace pipe with its association to smoking.

America dramatized its conflict with the Plains Indians in popular culture back as early as 1885, when Chief Sitting Bull agreed to join Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show.  He probably didn’t realize he was about to make a major contribution to the stereotyping of the American Indian and the romanticizing of the American West.  Sitting Bull became a major attraction, as thousands of spectators turned out to catch a glimpse of the infamous “White Man” killer.  Native Americans who performed with the show included Geronimo, Chief Joseph, and Rains In The Face – who reportedly was the Indian who had actually killed General Custer at Little Bighorn. The show featured as many as 1200 performers and hundreds of large animals, including a large herd of buffalo.  With the closing of the American frontier in the late Nineteenth Century and the success of the Wild West Show, Euro-Americans quickly came to see the Native American, especially the Plains Indian, in legendary terms, and as a culture in America’s past.

As soon as the Native American became a non-threat, the “Noble Savage” appeared as a stereotype. Wooden Indians were displayed outside tobacconist shops to attract the attention of customers. Cigar makers used famous chiefs and Indian squaws to their advantage. The Indian Squaw became the “princess,” while the male often became the noble, picturesque warrior: clean, stoic, and dressed in feathers. By connecting the Indian with such products as tobacco and medicine, the consumer endorsed the stereotype of a primitive culture, and cemented the image of the Indian as part of America’s past in the minds of Americans.

Unfortunately, the reposed American Indian was a boom to cigar advertising. Their lithographed images were mass produced in the last half of the 19th Century and became an important symbol of America’s so called “progress”.  Native Americans were widely displayed on cigar boxes and trading cards, and were collected by many Americans because of their often lush, colorful graphics. American Indians, along with other minorities such as; Blacks, and Asians were all marginalized in cigar label advertising in order to foster this sense of White American identity.

The Vanity in Cigar Box Labels

In the 1890’s a new type of cigar box label began to be advertised. In place of – drawn on stone lithographic portraits – were photographic images.  Collectors refer to any black and white images transferred from an original photograph – as a vanity label.

What makes Vanity Cigar Labels so interesting? These were everyday people of their day; wealthy people, their children, businessmen, local politicians, and sports teams. When you see a vanity label you know right away what a person looked like in that era, what they wore, their hair style, and what they were most proud of. The cigar label was no longer just for the rich and famous. Any American wealthy enough could immortalize themselves on a cigar label.  Anyone or any proud possession could be, and was, incorporated into a cigar label.

Initially, cigar label portraits were drawn from paintings, etchings, or photographs using a hand stippling technique of applying small dots to the stone. By the 1890’s lithographers began using a screen process technique that enabled them to transfer photographs to stones. The process called “half-tone” (photo-lithography) made the image appear like the original photograph. Many geometric half-tones took the place of hand drawn stipples and clearly mimicked the original photograph. For the first time, instead of drawing pictures, photographic images were transferred to the stone and integrated with the rest of the  drawing. They were advertised as “Half Tone” portraits and anyone with enough money could put any photograph on a stock cigar label.

Two of the more famous lithographic companies that used this technique were F. M.Howell, and Witsch & Shmitt

The popularity of vanity labels was short lived. The peak of popularity was between 1900 & 1910. By WWI vanity labels were on the decline along with the cigar industry.  Cigars were giving way to cigarettes as the primary smoker’s choice.

The Art of the Progressive Proof

I didn’t really appreciate cigar label art until I understood chromolithography and the process of progressive proofs.  In this article I want to expand on this coherent methodology, which allowed cigar labels to rise to the highest level of printed art.  Chromolithography (multi-colors) was an expensive technique, requiring separate limestone drawings for each color that made up the work of art. So once someone came up with a final image, the art work had to be broken down into finer steps. One stone was meticulously drawn for each color that made up the image (key line drawing). The result was a set of progressive proofs.

Now, in this case – “multiple pictures are worth a thousand words”.

Here is a very rare, and interesting progressive proof showing the methodology involved in producing a detailed color lithograph. This particular one uses eleven different color stones (including gold). There are twenty 10″ x 7″ plates of the El Falita label by Steele-Wedeles showing an exotically-attired Arabian woman.

Now, lets look what was needed to create this intricately beautiful label.  First, this proof set has color bars. Many proofs will show color bars indicating all the colors used in the print. Each progressive proof shows one page for each color bar and in some cases an intermediate color combination without the color. Some proofs will not show color bars but will have color signatures of each artist. In addition, there were multiple cross-marks for aligning each stone. One image was used to create both the ‘Inner’ and ‘Outer’ with  hash-marks indicating the outer label.

Typically, the more colors used on the chromolithograph the more realistic and beautiful the print. More colors allow for more subtle shades and variations in the resulting color print. Prints with many colors are rarer since it cost more money to engrave additional stones. Also, more colors is equivalent to more time to setup the print run and mix the inks. Each color sequence-was run until the full-color label resulted on the final page.

Once the process was completed, the printer bound the proof set into a paper-covered booklet, which served as a reference for identifying the stones and setting up future press runs. These are all bound loosely by string inside a paper wrap.

Even though cigar labels often were printed in bulk, there were rarely more than one or two proof books made for an individual label, thereby making progressive proof books particularly scarce.

The Extraordinary Image Makers

So far I have talked quite a bit on the history of cigar labels but who exactly were these artists that created the images on Cigar box Labels and where did they come from? Most were German immigrants, coming from the “Old World”.  They were extraordinary artists that had developed a passion for stone lithography because the process itself had much in common with painting. It enabled artists to use their unlimited imagination, apply their skills, and get paid for something they loved. The results were images of such remarkable beauty that scholars have hailed cigar labels as the highest-quality commercial printing in history.

With the boom of the cigar industry artists were given an unprecedented environment in which to thrive.  The best lithographic artists were located in New York: George Schlegel, O. L. Schwenke, Schmidt & Co., Witsch & Schmitt, Schumacher & Ettlinger and F. Heppenheimers Sons in lower Manhattan and Moehle Litho in Brooklyn. Those seven companies, plus Philadelphia’s George Harris & Sons, accounted for roughly 80 percent of all the cigar labels used in this country.

Heppenheimer & Mauer                                                                                  Witsch & Schmitt

Schmidt & co.                                                                                           Geo. Schelgel

With, all the proliferation of brands and labels you would think the overall process of creating and printing a stone image was easy. However, you would be wrong! It sometimes took months at a cost of several thousands of dollars (remember this was 19th Century money) to develop an image from the start of an idea until the image was ready for printing. The process started with a sketch or painting. Once approved, it was sent to the lithographic department, where a specialist created a key line drawing, a black-and-white interpretation resembling a paint-by-numbers diagram. Staff lithographic artists then translated the drawings onto lithographer’s limestone.

Mohle & Co.

Progressive proofs were developed for each color. Better labels were printed using  12 colors, each requiring a separate stone and press run. After 1890, additional runs were required for embossing and gilding (done with a bronze powder and shoe-shine-type buff wheel). Finally, printers applied their technical skills making final adjustments getting final approval for printing.

What many collectors aren’t aware of is although hundreds of thousands of cigar label images were created the original artwork almost never survived. It was standard practice of printers to destroy the originals as soon as the lithographers had transferred them to stone. If an artist insisted on his work being returned, the paintings were usually defaced or cut.

Famous Cigar Labels From the Turn of the 19th century.

Today, the serious cigar label collector looks for certain images from the golden age of cigar labels. Many labels have become iconic among cigar label collectors. Most love these labels for their images, artwork and history. If you are going to collect, then you want to have at least one of these in your collection. However, as enthusiastic as many collectors are it is still hard to acquire these images because they are rare.  Most are available in quantities of less then couple hundred, and some are only available in 50 or less. You can expect to pay anywhere from $200 up to thousands of dollars for one of these labels. The images displayed are among the more popular subject matter. I also tried to pick a variety of lithographers so you can see the difference in styles.

Below are just a few of the more sought after labels from the late 1890’s to 1900.

Dante – The author of the epic poem ‘Divine Comedy’ a spiritual trip through hell to get to paradise. Said to have been made of 22 colors.

Sulzerburger-Oppenheimer, N. Y.

Lime Kiln Club – A racist portrayal of Blacks in America.  Was an actual club in Detroit, Michigan.

Mensing & Stecher, N.Y.

Fellow Citizens – Two of the most famous Civil War generals. Ulysses S. Grant & Robert E. Lee

Calvert, Litho Co., Detroit

Columbo – Created for the Columbian expo of 1892. Schmidt & Co.

Greater Columbia – Miss liberty spreading her arms across the americas.

American Lithographic Co.

Cupid’s Web – An alluring young woman ready to catch a man in her love web.

O.L. Schwencke

Golfers - An upper class  game of popularity at the turn of the century.

F. Heppenheimer’s Sons

Frontier – A depiction of the harsh life on the new Western Frontiers.

H.B. Grauley

Gold Fields – Depicts the great Klondike Gold Rush in the Northwest Territories

Geo. S. Harris & Sons, N.Y.

Lone Trail – Depiction of the original first American Indian.

Schmidt & Co.

Los Inmortales - Three of the most famous U.S. presidents. Washington, Lincoln, & Grant

Louis C. Wagner& Co, N.Y.

“Auto” – An upper class couple out on a ride, proud of owning one of Americas first cars

Krueger & Braun, N.Y.

The Seductive Women of Cigar Labels

Women on cigar labels were portrayed as voluptuous, alluring, mysterious, and seductive   By far, the most popular cigar label theme is that of the woman. Right from the start, and into the Golden Age of cigar labels sex appeal was used to attract male customers. Beautiful women, scantily clad, and eye catching, were created to entice the mostly male customers to try a cigar. It all seemed so erotic and phallic.

Women of cigar labels ranged widely from young and innocent to sultry and buxom. Semi-nude women were common, but women were also depicted as demure, and sophisticated. All were used to tease a man and grab his attention.

Many women were depicted as goddesses, angels, warriors, appearing in Greek, Roman and or Egyptian motifs. Some images repeat themselves including; women playing instruments, women surrounded by cherubs, women holding laurels, staffs, swords, and shields. These secondary symbols also appealed to the male customer’s fantasy world and played on themes of patriotism, industrial progress, comfort, and fertility.

It must have been fun for the artists to create women of their dreams. Imagine a man smoking, staring at his favorite label, and then smiling widely as he fantasized about the girl on the box.

Cigar labels also featured popular women of their day. Many historical women , actresses, opera singers, and upper class socialites were depicted. This not only made the label attractive but also suggested the cigars were of the highest quality and sophistication.

Other cigar labels offered romanticized images. There were woman in nature &, mythology, and women being romanticized by nobility. These added to the male fantasy world, but also appealed to women who were a fast growing part of the cigar market at the turn of the 19^thcentury.

Sparkle and Pin Ash The HD of Cigar Labels

As the 1890’s rolled around, lithographers were experimenting with various metallics, and with advent of heavy duty presses embossing was used to make their products stand out more. The idea was to go from a 2 dimensional to 3 dimensional look, sort of the “high definition” of the day. In the United States most lithographers used bronze flakes that were applied to the dies and heavily pressed into to paper.  While in Europe they added 24kt gold dust to get a shinier gold appearance. Embossing gave the labels added dimension and realism. In fact, gold embossed coinage imagery found on some stone chromo litho cigar art labels far exceed the detail of any gold, copper, or silver coin ever made.

The overall visual effect was amazing, with the bronze appearing like heavy medal applied to the image. It gave ornaments such as jewelry, coins, and emblems an extra pin ash that mad them jump off the paper. Cigar makers were thrilled with the new look and paid extra to get the all important “edge” in attracting the customer.  This was truly and literally the Golden Era of cigar labels!

Embossing also had an unintended effect for the longevity of surviving labels. Most of the early labels were printed on inexpensive, short-fiber paper discolored and became brittle over time. Embossed labels, on the other hand, required the use of high quality long-fiber rag-stock paper. The fibers stretched rather than breaking under the pressure of presses.

Bendable and flexible without chipping or cracking, this paper is not found in use anywhere else from any other time period. Labels printed over 100 years ago still remain clean and bright with no signs of aging. Such art, unlike a typical Norman Rockwell print, is a hand made original, and therefore, very collectible.