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Hi Guys,
I posted this thread on the 'Cigar Aficionados - Gibraltar' Facebook group and thought I would share it with you all.
I was browsing around a website called www.cigarlabeljunkie.com looking at images of old cigar box art as this, along with cigar history, fascinates me.
Anyway, I came across this photo of a brand called 'La Planta' which shows what looks strikingly like the Rock of Gibraltar in the background:
La Planta.jpg
Although the gentleman on horseback is dressed in what looks like a Mexican 'Charro' outfit, or colonial Spanish dress which could also have been used in Cuba at the time - the person who he is handing the tobacco leaves to is dressed in what looks like the typical garb of an Andalusian 'bandolero' - who actively engaged in the smuggling of tobacco from Gibraltar.
The Rock of Gibraltar, being so imposing and impresive, has been used by companies such as Prudential as a symbol of strength and invincibility. It could be that the artist placed the Rock in the background for a purely aesthetic effect or perhaps to add that sense of strengh and power, rather than Gibraltar having any relevance to the tobacco trade, although the tobacco trade has always been very lucrative in Gibraltar.
The company which produced the label was George S. Harris & Sons, a Philadelphia based printing company which dates back to 1847.
These printing companies produced hundreds, even thousands of samples which salesmen would keep in catalogues and take to tobacconists who wanted to develop their own brands. It was very common during those days for individual tobacconists to have their own brands due to such intense competition.
I'm not sure if this design was ever used for an actual brand, there have been several 'La Planta' brands throughout history.
Nevertheless, very interesting I feel.
For more information on Geo. S. Harris & Sons see:
http://lcpdams.librarycompany.org:8881/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=79261&local_base=GEN01
For more information on Cigar Box Label history watch these fascinating videos on youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJz2v...2xqKFHvmdB9DqE=
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hh_eL...2xqKFHvmdB9DqE=
Regards,
Danny
I posted this thread on the 'Cigar Aficionados - Gibraltar' Facebook group and thought I would share it with you all.
I was browsing around a website called www.cigarlabeljunkie.com looking at images of old cigar box art as this, along with cigar history, fascinates me.
Anyway, I came across this photo of a brand called 'La Planta' which shows what looks strikingly like the Rock of Gibraltar in the background:
La Planta.jpg
Although the gentleman on horseback is dressed in what looks like a Mexican 'Charro' outfit, or colonial Spanish dress which could also have been used in Cuba at the time - the person who he is handing the tobacco leaves to is dressed in what looks like the typical garb of an Andalusian 'bandolero' - who actively engaged in the smuggling of tobacco from Gibraltar.
The Rock of Gibraltar, being so imposing and impresive, has been used by companies such as Prudential as a symbol of strength and invincibility. It could be that the artist placed the Rock in the background for a purely aesthetic effect or perhaps to add that sense of strengh and power, rather than Gibraltar having any relevance to the tobacco trade, although the tobacco trade has always been very lucrative in Gibraltar.
The company which produced the label was George S. Harris & Sons, a Philadelphia based printing company which dates back to 1847.
These printing companies produced hundreds, even thousands of samples which salesmen would keep in catalogues and take to tobacconists who wanted to develop their own brands. It was very common during those days for individual tobacconists to have their own brands due to such intense competition.
I'm not sure if this design was ever used for an actual brand, there have been several 'La Planta' brands throughout history.
Nevertheless, very interesting I feel.
For more information on Geo. S. Harris & Sons see:
http://
For more information on Cigar Box Label history watch these fascinating videos on youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJz2v...2xqKFHvmdB9DqE=
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hh_eL...2xqKFHvmdB9DqE=
Regards,
Danny