Hashish Hand Made

[nivanov]

Modern day cigar brand names are in a word; "boring" the same applies to the lithographs used, why use the same darn litho for 100 years or MORE! Some people say it's because of brand recognition...........or maybe because it costs money to create new and interesting lithos that commemorate life in the 21st century, or maybe it's a lack of imagination as seen by the "retro" packaging coming out of Cuba now days. Let me take you back to the wild and crazy 19th century, 1878 to be precise, at that time there were a million cigar marcas and thousands of cigar manufacturers (2,000+ in Pennsylvania alone), a thriving lithographic business that employed hundred if not thousands of people in New York City & Chicago. A neat example of these times is this short lived release of the "Hashish" cigar marca made by Alex Riston in Pennsylvania circa 1878. As you can see it's a varnished box with with a die impressed illustration which has been gilded. Was hashish illegal in 1878? Was there hashish in the cigars to keep the customers coming back for more? Who knows? Why name your cigar marca "hashish"? I guess we may never know the answers........

[cottierm]

So nice and funny. Thank for the pick and the story!

Best,

Michel

[cigarros]

Thank you for sharing this!

Unbelievable story!

Who knows? May be hashish was in cigars

[nivanov]

Continuing our wacky 1870's cigar journey wherein just about any word or number could be used as a brand name by the cigar manufacturer / proprietor we have come across the "Chump" cigar marca for obvious reasons a short lived cigar.

According to the dictionary a "chump" is a noun and the definition is:

• A foolish person.
• An easily deceived person; a sucker.

Would you buy a "chump" cigar? or would you be a "chump" if you did?

[Professor Twain]

Great thread Nick, keep the hits coming!

[Blnguy]

In East Germany we had a cigar brand named "sprachlos", what means "speechless". It was a cheap machine made dry cigar, probably made of east german tobacco. The wrapper was made of tobacco paper. I remember my first boss smoking these during meetings (it was ok to smoke, everyone did), but he never became speechless during or after smoking.

[Blnguy]

I have to add that for 20 "sprachlos" the price was 2,40 east german Marks, a pack of cigarettes was 3,20.

[nivanov]

Great read, thanks for posting. It's interesting, the box doesn't say 'cigars' anywhere - a hand made box of 'hashish' sounds mighty fine!

The partial blue stamp that you see in the pictures was a tax stamp for cigars, in addition, the bottom has the factory number and state of origin (Pennsylvania).

[cottierm]

I hope that you have many other beauties like that to offer us! Excellent.

Best,

Michel

[nivanov]

Are you entrepreneurial, did you want to feed the family and make a few bucks, why not start a cigar factory!!

That's what many people did back in the 1870's and 1880's, it was easy back then, no previous experience needed, nothing to it! That's why there were more than 2,000 factories in Pennsylvania alone, some were Mom and Pop shops 2-3 people rolling cigars and some employed hundreds of rollers, extolling the Spanish method!

I guess some people were successful and some were not so much.......choosing a lousy name for your cigar marca meant a short cigar making career and maybe financial ruin!

This all leads me to one of the strangest of all marcas the "rotten" cigar "but what's in a name" went the slogan.

I could just imagine asking for some of those "rotten" cigars or "are you smoking those "rotten" cigars again?" I believe I am!

[nivanov]

The name of this 1880's marca is "*** - Bit" ??????

What the heck??

[nivanov]

Censorship? Yes, it's been around for awhile! Note the censors have put some asterisks in place of the first part of the above named cigar box. Is that one of the seven words you cannot say on radio or TV??

Would the expression "*** for tat" be banned as well even though it exists in Webster's modern day dictionary and means "an equivalent given in return (as for an injury) : retaliation in kind".

Commemorated in popular song, trivia, and cautionary tale, the tortuous history of Otto Titzling (a.k.a. Titsling, Titslinger, Titzlinger) and the invention of the modern brassiere has a lesson to teach us all — though not necessarily the one you might expect. As the story goes, Otto Titzling, a German immigrant living in New York City circa 1912, was employed at a factory making women's undergarments when he met an aspiring opera singer named Swanhilda Olafsen. Miss Olafsen, a buxom woman by all accounts, complained to Titzling that the standard corsets in use at the time were not only uncomfortable to wear but failed to provide adequate support where it counted most.

Titzling rose to the challenge. With the help of his trusty assistant, Hans Delving, he set about inventing a new kind of undergarment specifically engineered to meet the needs of the modern woman. The "chest halter" he designed proved to be a brilliant innovation and a commercial success, but our hero neglected to take out a patent, an oversight that would haunt him for the rest of his days.

I used to believe the legend of Mr. Otto Titzling until I looked it up and was shocked to learn that the story is a complete fabrication, completely fictional!

Another fictional character was French-born fashion designer Philippe de Brassiere, who began ripping off Otto Titzling's designs and manufacturing competing products (brassiere) in the early 1930s.

Ahhhh! Censorship!

How did cigar makers deal with censorship over the years? Apparently you would put clothes on them!

Apparently the wacky and crazy 1880's were more permissive than the 1900's.......................or 2012

[canadianbeaver]

These package designs are beautiful ! Thank you for sharing!

[mazolaman]

Love the "chump" box.

[nivanov]

Love the "chump" box.

I agree............I wonder if the Cubans think of "us cigar smokers" the same way, every time I see higher prices on the RE's, I think of the above named cigar box!

[nivanov]

Ed Stokes shot financier Jim Fisk in an argument over a woman, did time in Sing-Sing prison, got out and ended up owning the Hoffman House, an upscale hotel at the corner of 25th and Broadway in New York. The bar became a Republican hang out and an unofficial meeting place of the wealthy.

In the 1880's, Stokes hung in his bar Adolph Bouguereau's "Nymphs and Satyr" a life size, nearly 12-foot tall painting featuring four life-like nudes, a masterpiece that became a hot tourist attraction to the great annoyance of local moralists. A famous cartoon showed a bum leaning against the bar lamenting to the bartender "I've been looking all over the world for that creek, but darned if I can find it." (courtesy of Tony Hyman NCM)

In 1898, the brand was sold to a larger manufacturer. Alas, over the years, the nymphs were clothed and the cigar faded into the past.

I understand that the Hoffman House cigar has recently been re-introduced (2010?).

[El Presidente]

Great stuff Nick :clap:

You have made my day mate...put a smile on my face

[nivanov]

Great stuff Nick :clap:

You have made my day mate...put a smile on my face

Your kind words are truly appreciated...............and the next post on this thread is for you! Cheers!

[nivanov]

This 1883 cigar box & cigars were made in NYC for the H.D. Lee Mercantile Co. in Salina, Kansas. The box has survived in great condition for more than 100 years for many reasons, at one point it was used to store and apron and receipts for a Masonic Temple.

Varnished wood with "CZAR" die impression and pattern which has been gilded, makes a "royal" impression!

[El Presidente]

Beautiful Nick.

You really have to appreciate the sense of " fun" associated with many of these cigar names. They seemed to know where cigars sat in the pantheon of importance