The
Art of
the Cigar Label
Tampa's Colorful Cigar Labels are More Than Just Pretty Pictures
It seems cigar labels are everywhere lately.
T-shirts, coffee mugs, mouse pads and shower curtains
are emblazoned with images all too familiar to
native Tampans. It's one way we can connect with
and embrace our city's legacy as the "Cigar
City." Cigar labels - whether adorned by an
attractive woman or a famous writer - jump out
at the viewer. However, cigar labels of the late
19th and early 20th centuries are also rich in
symbolic imagery. Labels can reflect, in the words
of one historian, "the tobacco industry's
important influence on the economic, social, and
political climate of Cuba and …Tampa," and
are often "windows to the past," depicting
contemporary events, celebrities, and social life.
Cigar labels are also among the earliest forms
of popular advertising, illustrating the country's
shift from an industrial economy to one based on
consumer goods. more > |
