Cigar Box Labels: Portraits of Life, Mirrors of History pays tribute to cigars and the pictorial glory of Victorian-era cigar box labels, a unique form of commercial advertising that flourished in the business place a century ago and helped drive cigars to widespread prominence in American society. Those who fancy these stunningly beautiful paper images as a hobby are in the midst of the hottest area of antique tobacco advertising collecting today. Showcased here are some of the finest and most desirable examples produced by the old stone chromolithographic method between 1860 and 1910. This book also explores some of the rich historical past that surrounds cigars-their manufacture, marketing, and, most of all, their mystique. Also featured is a potpourri of contemporary anecdotes, poems, and other bits of literary whimsy designed to amuse, educate, and titillate the imagination.