A History of America in Cigar Consumption

DrDubzz · 02-26-2010, 01:05 PM

Just got this from the economist, haven't really even read it yet

http://www.economist.com/daily/news/...ry_id=15581140

read it, it's just a blurb and a graph, but interesting

JE3146 · 02-26-2010, 01:13 PM

The figures prior to 1920 are the most astonishing. Average per adult male.. over 250 a year!?

DrDubzz · 02-26-2010, 01:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JE3146

The figures prior to 1920 are the most astonishing. Average per adult male.. over 250 a year!?

That's why everything came in 50 and 100 cabs, it had to!

Neuromancer · 02-26-2010, 01:54 PM

Hmmm...when Kennedy put the embargo in effect, he'd just picked up about 50 boxes of the CC's he liked...no way he had time to smoke them all...wonder what happened to them...just think of it...somewhere out there today there may be a hugh stash of pre-embargo CC's that are almost 50 years old...nah, Sargent Shriver probably smoked 'em...

CheapHumidors · 02-26-2010, 03:20 PM

Cool article bro thanks!

The Poet · 02-26-2010, 03:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JE3146

The figures prior to 1920 are the most astonishing. Average per adult male.. over 250 a year!?

That's why they didn't sell them by the box, but rather by the barrel.

It was NOT the Anti-Smoking Lobby that killed the dominance of cigars in this country, it was the development and marketing of the cigarette.

ucla695 · 02-26-2010, 03:52 PM

Man, the more I hear about JFK making sure his humi was stocked before he expanded the embargo, the more my blood boils that we still have to deal with his crap....

The Poet · 02-26-2010, 03:57 PM

Rank has its privilege, no matter how rank.

ucla695 · 02-26-2010, 04:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Poet

Rank has its privilege, no matter how rank.

So true!

SmokeyJoe · 02-26-2010, 04:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Neuromancer

Hmmm...when Kennedy put the embargo in effect, he'd just picked up about 50 boxes of the CC's he liked...no way he had time to smoke them all...wonder what happened to them...just think of it...somewhere out there today there may be a hugh stash of pre-embargo CC's that are almost 50 years old...nah, Sargent Shriver probably smoked 'em...

Marvin Shanken bought them at Auction, April 23, 1996

http://www.cigaraficionado.com/Cigar...22,131,00.html

Google is your friend!

qwerty1500 · 02-26-2010, 07:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SmokeyJoe

Marvin Shanken bought them at Auction, April 23, 1996

http://www.cigaraficionado.com/Cigar...22,131,00.html

Google is your friend!

Thanks. It solves the mystery about what happened to JFK's humidor. Unless I missed it, the article didn't say anything about the cigars. I have often wondered what became of them.

02-26-2010, 07:32 PM

Amazing, 250 a year plus on average...

M1903A1 · 02-26-2010, 08:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by qwerty1500

Thanks. It solves the mystery about what happened to JFK's humidor. Unless I missed it, the article didn't say anything about the cigars. I have often wondered what became of them.

I remember seeing a humidor (think there were two?) in the auction catalog. If this is the same as the one I remember, it was a glass-top desktop stocked with a handful of Perfecto Garcia "Ensign" cigars (not exactly pre-embargo H. Upmanns) and a book of paper matches.

And what's so odd about 250 cigars in a year? That's not even one a day, on average.

M1903A1 · 02-26-2010, 09:02 PM

An additional thought about the 250+ cigars a year figure...they speak of "large cigars" in reference to the graph. But, I think they're applying modern standards/prejudices to period data.

From what I've seen (both in period photos and surviving examples), your average-market cigar back around 1915-20 wasn't big by anyone's standards...it wasn't a robusto, let alone a Churchill or DC. It was something more like a petit corona or minutos size...think Parti Shorts or Sig IIs. Average people back then didn't smoke cigars as a hobby, it was just something you did...and Joe Average on the farm or the production line at Ford wasn't gonna drop twenty-five or fifty cents every day for a big perfecto or double corona to smoke after dinner. (By modern standards, that would be like smoking a big Opus X every night!) He'd have bought a box or two of Harvesters, El Productos or some regional brand in a corona, PC or smaller size. And as many of us know, even at a rate of only one a day it's not hard to burn through a lot of those in a year.

02-26-2010, 09:14 PM

Cool article. I can remember in the 60's thru the 70's that I was smoking at least 200 per year and then tapered off from the mid 70's to the mid 90's. That graph is really something to see as I would have thought back in the first of the century that cigar smoking wasn't all that prevalent.

Razorhog · 02-26-2010, 10:00 PM

Very interesting!

M1903A1 · 02-26-2010, 10:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cigary

That graph is really something to see as I would have thought back in the first of the century that cigar smoking wasn't all that prevalent.

Au contraire! It was once very prevalent.

From what I've read cigars did not seriously begin to be superseded by cigarettes (in the US at least) until after large numbers of American men were introduced to them in the trenches of World War I.

Neuromancer · 02-27-2010, 02:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by M1903A1

Au contraire! It was once very prevalent.

From what I've read cigars did not seriously begin to be superseded by cigarettes (in the US at least) until after large numbers of American men were introduced to them in the trenches of World War I.

The switch from cigars to cigarettes came primarily with the invention of the automatic cigarette rolling machines which made it possible to provide them in mass quantities and at cheaper prices, somewhere around the turn of the 19th to the 20th century...

Tredegar · 02-27-2010, 07:26 AM

I agree with the size of cigars being smaller a century ago. If you look at almost any picture of guys smoking cigars from then, they are almost all smaller ring gauges. Also, I have seen a prevalence of smaller ring gauge perfectos that people were smoking. The advent of cigarettes did lower cigar consumption especially when you think about how many people were also employed in factories and didn't have time to smoke a cigar but did have time for a quick cigarette.

shilala · 02-27-2010, 07:42 AM

Cigars used to be a huge part of daily life here, especially around the cities.
They were used largely in advertising and politicking.
In days before tv, if someone wanted your attention to try to sell you something, they'd have a few boxes of cigars and lay down their pitch while you were smoking the cigar they just gave you. Life was at a much slower pace and folks hung out on the street a lot. Anyone running for any kind of office wouldn't think of going out stumping without a large supply of smokes. They had dress boxes made up with their name and campaign slogans and singles were given out widely.
A large part of the cigars were perfecto candelas.
There are all sorts of cigar art sites and tons of reading available on the internet about this stuff. It's fun reading.

02-26-2010, 01:05 PM	#1
DrDubzz Formerly RX2010 Join Date: Oct 2008 First Name: Tim Location: Virginia Posts: 2,201 Trading: (34)	A History of America in Cigar Consumption Just got this from the economist, haven't really even read it yet http://www.economist.com/daily/news/...ry_id=15581140 read it, it's just a blurb and a graph, but interesting

02-26-2010, 01:13 PM	#2
JE3146 Jordan #2 Join Date: Oct 2008 First Name: Jordan Location: Tigard, OR Posts: 2,115 Trading: (26)	Re: A History of America in Cigar Consumption The figures prior to 1920 are the most astonishing. Average per adult male.. over 250 a year!?

02-26-2010, 01:54 PM	#4
Neuromancer Will work for Boli GM's Join Date: Oct 2008 First Name: Marc Location: Lost in translation...near Newnan, GA Posts: 1,417 Trading: (23)	Re: A History of America in Cigar Consumption Hmmm...when Kennedy put the embargo in effect, he'd just picked up about 50 boxes of the CC's he liked...no way he had time to smoke them all...wonder what happened to them...just think of it...somewhere out there today there may be a hugh stash of pre-embargo CC's that are almost 50 years old...nah, Sargent Shriver probably smoked 'em... __________________ "...pipe smoking is properly an intellectual exercise." ~ Christopher Morley, 1916

02-26-2010, 03:20 PM	#5
CheapHumidors Still Watching My Back Join Date: Jan 2009 First Name: Dave Location: Tampa, FL Posts: 149 Trading: (0)	Re: A History of America in Cigar Consumption Cool article bro thanks!

02-26-2010, 03:52 PM	#7
ucla695 Neither here, nor there Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: The Pool Posts: 3,696 Trading: (5)	Re: A History of America in Cigar Consumption Man, the more I hear about JFK making sure his humi was stocked before he expanded the embargo, the more my blood boils that we still have to deal with his crap....

02-26-2010, 03:57 PM	#8
The Poet Il megglior fabbro Join Date: Jun 2009 First Name: Thomas Location: Hickory, NC Posts: 8,420 Trading: (2)	Re: A History of America in Cigar Consumption Rank has its privilege, no matter how rank.

02-26-2010, 07:32 PM	#12
nater Guest Posts: n/a	Re: A History of America in Cigar Consumption Amazing, 250 a year plus on average...

02-26-2010, 09:02 PM	#14
M1903A1 Have My Own Room Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: 1060 W. Addison Posts: 1,573 Trading: (4)	Re: A History of America in Cigar Consumption An additional thought about the 250+ cigars a year figure...they speak of "large cigars" in reference to the graph. But, I think they're applying modern standards/prejudices to period data. From what I've seen (both in period photos and surviving examples), your average-market cigar back around 1915-20 wasn't big by anyone's standards...it wasn't a robusto, let alone a Churchill or DC. It was something more like a petit corona or minutos size...think Parti Shorts or Sig IIs. Average people back then didn't smoke cigars as a hobby, it was just something you did...and Joe Average on the farm or the production line at Ford wasn't gonna drop twenty-five or fifty cents every day for a big perfecto or double corona to smoke after dinner. (By modern standards, that would be like smoking a big Opus X every night!) He'd have bought a box or two of Harvesters, El Productos or some regional brand in a corona, PC or smaller size. And as many of us know, even at a rate of only one a day it's not hard to burn through a lot of those in a year. __________________ "It's the cigars that bring us together, but it's the people that cause us to stay."

02-26-2010, 09:14 PM	#15
Cigary Guest Posts: n/a	Re: A History of America in Cigar Consumption Cool article. I can remember in the 60's thru the 70's that I was smoking at least 200 per year and then tapered off from the mid 70's to the mid 90's. That graph is really something to see as I would have thought back in the first of the century that cigar smoking wasn't all that prevalent.

02-26-2010, 10:00 PM	#16
Razorhog Feeling at Home Join Date: Jul 2009 First Name: Beau Location: NE Arkansas Posts: 600 Trading: (4)	Re: A History of America in Cigar Consumption Very interesting!

02-27-2010, 07:26 AM	#19
Tredegar Sing along with me Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 670 Trading: (9)	Re: A History of America in Cigar Consumption I agree with the size of cigars being smaller a century ago. If you look at almost any picture of guys smoking cigars from then, they are almost all smaller ring gauges. Also, I have seen a prevalence of smaller ring gauge perfectos that people were smoking. The advent of cigarettes did lower cigar consumption especially when you think about how many people were also employed in factories and didn't have time to smoke a cigar but did have time for a quick cigarette.

02-27-2010, 07:42 AM	#20
shilala Dear Lord, Thank You. Join Date: Oct 2008 First Name: Scott Posts: 13,721 Trading: (252)	Re: A History of America in Cigar Consumption Cigars used to be a huge part of daily life here, especially around the cities. They were used largely in advertising and politicking. In days before tv, if someone wanted your attention to try to sell you something, they'd have a few boxes of cigars and lay down their pitch while you were smoking the cigar they just gave you. Life was at a much slower pace and folks hung out on the street a lot. Anyone running for any kind of office wouldn't think of going out stumping without a large supply of smokes. They had dress boxes made up with their name and campaign slogans and singles were given out widely. A large part of the cigars were perfecto candelas. There are all sorts of cigar art sites and tons of reading available on the internet about this stuff. It's fun reading. __________________