The Cheyenne daily leader. [volume] (Cheyenne, Wyo.) 1870-1884, 1883-10-24
CIGAR LABELS.
Novel and Attractive Designs Much
Sought After by Cigar
Manufacturers

A lithographing establishment in Pearl
street having offered to pay the highest cash
prices for first class cigar label designs, a re-
porter found a member of the firm looking
over a portfolio OF drawings and illustrations
cut from periodicals. He selected a couple of
drawings, and, turning to q young man,
said: These are good designs, andn-picking
up one of the illustrations you might make
us a design from that III give you SIS for
these three in crayon, and $50 if you'll do the
last one in colors. That's IS apiece for your
crayon designs, and $40 for that which is to
be in colors."
"Can l get the money for the two crayon
drawings nowF' the young man asked.
Certainly, " Mr. Phelps said, handing $40
to him, and the rest when you bring the
other design. Just leave your address in case
l should want you to do some other work be
fore you finish this design"
The young man pocketed the $40 and
quilted the Office in a very happy frame of
mind.
"He appear TO be a smart young fellow
Mr.. Phelps said, land Pm glad we got hold
OF him. If we hadn't advertised we might
never have known him."
Haven't you artists to design for your
"A number of them. But we need more
and more because the manufacture of domes-
tic cigars is a constantly growing branch of
trade, and we are constantly being called on
for labels for new brands. For this reason
we want to have as many designers at our
disposal as possible. The result of our offer
is that men come here with samples of their
work, and we can tell at a glance whether it
will be well to add them to our list of de-
signers or mott
"Do you suggest designs yourself, or leave
that to the artistF'
you see, if a cigar manufacturer wants
to get out a new brand, or to work off an old
brand under a new label, which is the most
usual case, he comes here and tells us what
his idea is, or, more frequently tells our can
vassers-for there is so much competition in
the business that we have to send around
canvassers with books of labels in stock. We
find out what price he desires to pay, whether
he wants n label in black and white or in
colors, and in how many colors, as the ex-
pense of getting up a label depends mostly
on the number of colors to be printed. If he
wants a cheap label we get a crayon design;
design in colors from one of our hfteen-dollar
designers. Let me show you how it is DONE"
opening a large book full of labels.
Here is a label on which canvassers in
one section of the country alone managed to
sell 5000, 900 cigars. A manufacturer sent
us word that he wanted to work the Free
Masons, because he thought plenty of them
were to be found all over the country. Sc
he wanted to get up a Grand Master brand,
for which he wished a first-class label. We
got up this label for him. The centre is the
figure of a Grand Master in full regalia; the
side pieces are the implements used in Ma
sonic rites"
"How much do labels like that costT'
"They are the most expensive-S50 for a
thousand sets.n
"How many are to a setr'
- Al - -
side Of the cover and the centre piece of the
large label alone to be pasted on the
outside. The success OF this label
has been so great that several
other manufacturers have ordered designs
for labels on which to work the Free Masons,
and we have Autographed for them thousands
of labels with other designs calculated to at
tract the eyes OF Masons. That is the way
designs usually originate-with the cigar
manufacturer. OF course we have stock
labels so that we can show samples"
"Do you ever give illustrations from period
icals to your artists US bases for designsr'
Rarely. We usually let them do their
own stealing"
~ often see labels of Havana manufac-
turers on boxes of domestic cigars. Do you
sell limitations of Havana labelsF'
mot now, because there is n law against it.
Initiating foreign labels used to be an i'm
portant branch of our business, because when
the manufacturing of domestic cigars began
most domestic cigars were sold as imported,
and the manufacturers required imitation
labels. But now domestic cigars are sold on
their merits.n
SIS any special label most in demandF'
"When a manufacturer gets his name well
up in the business, so that people begin to ask
for his cigars, he will have his portrait put
on his labels and stuck on tho inside and out
side of the box, like the specimens of personal
portraiture which theatrical managers have
posted on the fences"
"Do manufacturers get up brands for
special sale among certain trades or profess
sions, as did the one who originated the Ma
sonic brandt
Eyes. You will find here labels with fire
engines, ships, steamboats,, and the like.
During the excitement over six-day walking
matches we got up labels with the contest
ants OH the track. Then we have pictures Of
famous actresses, of race horses, of the Tally
Ho, and of winning yachts. In fact. the
manufacturers and we, too, read the news
papers, and if any event of great public in
terest offers any basis for II cigar label de-
sign you may be- sure we take advantage