Sunday, December 27, 2015

Daily Double Cigars



Named, not from the Jeopardy TV game, but from horse and dog racing.

The years from 1880 to 1930 were considered to be the golden age of the cigar in North America.  For more on cigar marketing, see the Canadian Museum of History's online exhibit, Selling Smoke: How Canadian Cigar Boxes Pitched their Wares 1883-1935.  That exhibit explains:

"In this smoker's world, said each label, their cigar stood out: it was an agricultural marvel, a craftsman's masterpiece, a technological miracle, an international prize winner, a luxury worthy of the rich and powerful, a gift of the gods."
"Craftsman's masterpiece?" "Technological miracle?"  The reality was much different:


Alden March.  The History and Conquest of the Philippines and Our Other Island Possessions.  World Bible House, 1901.
Philippe Dasney.  Vingt millions d'immigrants.  New York 1880-1914 en photos.  Paris:  Elsevier Sequoia, 1977.

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