The cigar store Indian or wooden Indian is an advertisement figure, in the likeness of a Native American, used to represent tobacconists. The figures are often three-dimensional wooden sculptures measuring from several feet tall up to life-sized. They are still occasionally used for their original advertising purpose, but are more often seen as decorations or advertising collectibles, with some pieces selling for hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Because of the general illiteracy of the populace, early store owners used descriptive emblems or figures to advertise their shops' wares; for example, barber poles advertise barber shops, show globes advertised apothecaries and the three gold balls represent pawn shops. American Indians and tobacco had always been associated because American Indians introduced tobacco to Europeans. [1] As early as the 17th century, European tobacconists used figures of American Indians to advertise their shops.
In 1667, King Charles II passed a law which forbade the use of overhead projecting signs because of the danger presented to passing traffic. [2] A Highlander figure indicated the sale of Scottish snuff, and a Blackamoor figure that tobacco from the Caribbean was available. [3]
Because European carvers had never seen a Native American, these early cigar-store "Indians" looked more like Africans with feathered headdresses and other fanciful, exotic features. These carvings were called "Black Boys" or "Virginians" in the trade. Eventually, the European cigar-store figure began to take on a more "authentic" yet highly stylized native visage, and by the time the smoke-shop figure arrived in the Americas in the late 18th century, it had become thoroughly "Indian." [4]
According to an 1890 article in the New York Times: [5]
The Times further notes that as the market became saturated with Indians, popular taste expanded to figures of Scotchmen, English officers with bearskins, Dolly Vardens, John L. Sullivan, Edwin Forrest in Roman garb, Turks, sultanas, Punch, and plantation Blacks. The price of a small Indian was then $16, and full custom figures might cost $125. Most figures, however, were simply copied from existing ones.
The Times article describes traditional fabrication techniques as follows. The wood was typically white pine, bought as logs at spar yards. The artist first blocked out a very rough outline by axe, guided by paper patterns. A hole was then bored into each end of the log, about 5 inches in depth, and a bolt placed into each. The log was then suspended from these bolts on supports so it could freely turn. The sculptor then used chisels, followed by finer carving tools, to create the finished figure. Arms and hands were created separately, then screwed into the body. The last steps were to paint it, and set it up upon a stand.
The cigar store Indian became less common in the 20th century for a variety of reasons. [6] Sidewalk-obstruction laws dating as far back as 1911 were one cause. [7] Later issues included higher manufacturing costs, restrictions on tobacco advertising, and increased sensitivity towards depictions of Native Americans, all of which relegated the figures to museums and antique shops. [8] Many also were destroyed during scrap drives for metal and wood during World War I and World War II. Cigar store figures are now viewed as folk art, and some models have become collector's items, drawing prices up to $500,000. [7] Modern replicas of cigar store Indians are still made for sale, some as cheap as $600. [7]
People within the Native American community often view such likenesses as offensive for several reasons. Some objections are because they are used to promote tobacco use as recreational instead of ceremonial. [7] Other objections are that they perpetuate a "noble savage" or "Indian princess" caricature or inauthentic stereotypes of Native people, [9] implying that modern individuals "are still living in tepees, that we still wear war bonnets and beads." [10] drawing parallels to the African-American lawn jockey. [11]
A billboard is a large outdoor advertising structure, typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertisements to passing pedestrians and drivers. Typically brands use billboards to build their brands or to push for their new products.
A humidor is a humidity-controlled box or room used primarily for storing cigars, cigarettes, cannabis, or pipe tobacco. Either too much or too little humidity can be harmful to tobacco products; a humidor's primary function is to maintain a steady, desirable moisture level inside; secondarily it protects its contents from physical damage and deterioration from sunlight. For private use, small wooden boxes holding a few dozen or fewer cigars are common, while cigar shops may have walk-in humidors. Many humidors use hygrometers to monitor their humidity levels.
Treen is a generic name for small handmade functional household objects made of wood. Treen is distinct from furniture, such as chairs, and cabinetry, as well as clocks and cupboards. Before the late 17th century, when silver, pewter, and ceramics were introduced for tableware, most small household items, boxes and tableware were carved from wood. Today, treen is highly collectable for its patina and tactile appeal.
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Cuban cigars are cigars manufactured in Cuba from tobacco grown within that island nation. Historically regarded as among the world's “finest”, they are synonymous with the island's culture and contribute nearly one quarter of the value of all exports from the country.
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No Smoking is a cartoon made by Walt Disney Productions in 1951, featuring Goofy. This cartoon is another short of the "Goofy the Everyman" series of the 1950s. This cartoon begins by tracing the brief history of smoking, including how Christopher Columbus brought tobacco to Europe from the Native Americans, and then moves on to Goofy, as "George Geef" in this cartoon, trying unsuccessfully to drop the smoking habit.
A tobacconist, also called a tobacco shop, a tobacconist's shop or a smoke shop, is a retail business that sells tobacco products in various forms and the related accoutrements, such as pipes, lighters, matches, pipe cleaners, and pipe tampers. More specialized retailers might sell ashtrays, humidification devices, hygrometers, humidors, cigar cutters, and more. Books and magazines, especially ones related to tobacco are commonly offered. Items irrelevant to tobacco such as puzzles, games, figurines, hip flasks, walking sticks, and confectionery are sometimes sold.
Blackamoor is a type of figure/visual trope in European decorative art, typically found in works from the Early Modern period, depicting a man of sub-Saharan African descent, usually in clothing that suggests high status. Common examples of items and objects decorated in the blackamoor style include sculpture, jewellery, and furniture. Typically the sculpted figures carried something, such as candles or a tray. They were thus an exotic and lightweight variant for the "atlas" in architecture and decorative arts, especially popular in the Rococo period.
The House of Carreras was a tobacco business established in London in the nineteenth century by Don José Carreras Ferrer, a nobleman from Spain. It remained an independent company until merging with Rothmans of Pall Mall in November 1958. In 1972 the name was used as the vehicle for the merger of various European tobacco interests to form Rothmans International.
A cigar bar is an establishment that caters to patrons who smoke cigars. Many serve food and alcohol as well. The prevalence of cigar bars varies by country; some jurisdictions ban smoking in all businesses, while others offer an exemption for cigar bars.
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As nicotine is highly addictive, marketing nicotine-containing products is regulated in most jurisdictions. Regulations include bans and regulation of certain types of advertising, and requirements for counter-advertising of facts generally not included in ads. Regulation is circumvented using less-regulated media, such as Facebook, less-regulated nicotine delivery products, such as e-cigarettes, and less-regulated ad types, such as industry ads which claim to discourage nicotine addiction but seem, according to independent studies, to promote teen nicotine use.
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