In the late 1800’s as our countries economy shifted to a consumer economy. America saw the rise of the five and dime store and along with it came store windows and more importantly window shoppers.
For the first time products that had always been kept high on a merchants shelf or behind a counter were put on display for all to see and for the first time products had the opportunity to “speak” directly to customers.
One of the first industries to take advantage of this opportunity was the tobacco industry that was booming in the Ybor City, a part of Tampa, Florida that is also known as “Cigar City”.
Today at the CMG conference I took advantage of the Education Saturday program and it was my pleasure to see a presentation by Emanuel Leto from the Ybor City Museum Society called “The Art of the Cigar Label: More Than Just Pretty Pictures” where he shared the history of the lithographed cigar labels as one of the earliest forms of advertising and also revealed that
“Cigar labels of the late 19th and early 20th centuries are also rich in symbolic imagery. Labels can reflect, in the words of one historian, “the tobacco industry’s important influence on the economic, social, and political climate of Cuba and …Tampa,” and are often “windows to the past,” depicting contemporary events, celebrities, and social life. “
Rather than categorize the cigar labels as most people would, Leto classified them by marketing themes all of which are widely used today for all types of products:
Sex appeal — As Leto puts it “Perhaps nothing grabs a man’s attention like a scantily clad woman, and cigar labels are full of them”.
Celebrity — One of the earliest products to use the power of celebrities to sell. Writers, actors, performers, politicians, generals, explorers, kings, and queens were among the celebrities of the day and all were used to sell cigars.
Romanticism — Many labels offer romanticized images of Native Americans, nature, mythology, or nobility creating a fantasy world designed to appeal to a male consumer.
Patriotism — Theodore Roosevelt, Cuban revolutionary leaders, and American and Cuban soldiers all appeared on cigar labels capitalizing on the nationalism and patriotism surrounding the Spanish American War.
Americana — Many labels were a celebration of American culture and progress and featured trains, ships, maps, famous buildings, and family scenes.
While I have seen old cigar labels on everything from t-shirts to mouse pads I knew nothing of their interesting history or as Leto puts it “these small, colorful snapshots reveal more than just the story of Tampa’s bygone cigar era; they capture an evolving American nation”.
Note: If you are interested in learning more about the process of lithography there is an excellent explanation that is still available online at the National Gallery of Art which they put together in support of an exhibition of works primarily by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. 
