Cigar boxes have always showcased incredible artwork. Walk into a specialist shop today and you’ll find row after row of elaborately decorated cigar boxes from the US and South America. What you won’t find is any reference to slavery, genocide and the conquering of the new world. All three are considered a ‘bad scene’ these days and have long since disappeared from the packaging.
Cigar manufacturers in the 19th century had no such qualms. The illustrations that adorned boxes back then were filled with political and social undertones – none of them particularly ‘progressive’. Still, as a throwback to 19th century commercial art, they make for some interesting skeletons in closets.