Headlines at InStone Inc.
Have you read any good books lately?
A book that we feel good about recommending for those who enjoy the
cigar box label-collecting hobby is Cigar Box Labels-Portraits of
Life, Mirrors of History by Gerard S. Petrone. If you have not
read it, you definitely should.
Dr. Petrone is a San Diego physician who, many years ago, became
addicted to tobacco advertising. This led him- as it should all
collectors-to educate himself about the genre. Fascinated with the
history of tobacco advertising, he wrote
his first book, “Tobacco Advertising: The Great Seduction,”
giving readers a general overview of promotional techniques and
gimmickry used by the tobacco industry from 1860-1930.
In “Cigar Box Labels-Portraits of Life, Mirrors of History,”
he touches upon the birth of the cigar box labels, America’s cigar
label industry and branding. He also writes about the pioneers of
stone lithography, Alois Senefelder and Louis Prang. There is
information about the “Gilded Age” of lithography, the various
themes portrayed on the cigar labels,
as well as information about making cigars in Cuba and the Key West
Cigars.
His research took him to the Library of Congress, where he found
archives of a large collection of cigar box labels from the late
1850s to the mid-1880s. In his book, he shares pages and pages of
these early, rare cigar box label images that showcase the truly
exemplary artwork of stone lithography. He also includes a list of
lithographers and their dates of operation to help the collector
date their labels.
The book is under 200 pages, but Dr. Petrone has packed a lot of
information, trivia, humor and history into it.
Dr. Petrone (or Jerry as we call him) usually comes to every Del Mar
Antiques Show and has been good enough to sign some of his books for
us. You can stop by and purchase an autographed copy of “Cigar
Box Labels-Portraits of Life, Mirrors of History.” If you’re
lucky, perhaps you can even meet him there. He is a very gracious,
nice man. We hope to see him and his lovely wife at the show this
month. See “Shows” for more information.
Kathy, Mike, Jerry, Margo Kathy, Mike, Pam
& Jerry, Margo
*pictures from a past Del Mar Antiques Show
