Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1890-01-01
THOUSANDS OF CIGAR BOXES.
Making Them is Great Industry-What
Becomes of Them An?

| Becomes of Them AN?
From the Philadelphia Inquirer.l
"Over 100000 cigars are manufact-
ured every day in the United States
alone" said prominent dealer the other
day, "and this enormous number requires
in the neighborhood of 100000 boxes for
their keeping. Consequently there are
over 200 factories in the country turning
out boxes as fast, or faster, than cigars are
made to fill them And it is surprising
what an extensive and expensive plant is
required for the making OF cigar boxes. A
complete box-making plant is planning
mill, silk-spinning mill and a printing
establishment combined. Besides putting
the pieces of wood together a fully
equipped factory weaves and fixes up its
own silk ribbon wrappers and does its own
printing.
"The wood of which these boxes are made
comes from Mexico, Central America and
the West Indies. The manufacturers use
very little besides red cedar, and that kind
Of timber is rather scarce in this country.
They buy the wood for these boxes in
large, heavy logs, and then cut them up to
suit themselves. Only the cheaper grade
of boxes are made from poplar, cut in the
West, which is afterward stained to imi-
tate the red cedar. But the only real
good wood for packing cigars is the cedar
which comes from Mexico, Central Amer
lea and the West Indies. The cedar wood
has peculiar pungent odor, which adds
very much to the taste and flavor of good
cigar This quality of the cedar is recog-
nized by the pork packers, for they take
he 70 f,ra1 IN
ing their extra grades of bacon.
"In the first place the logs ara cut up
into thin layers or veneers. These are
taken to the drying department, where
they are placed on racks for day or so TO
dry out thoroughly. The veneers are
then run through heavy steel rollers, and
thus come out neatly polished. After
being sawed into strips the veneers are cut
up into proper lengths. The pieces are
now ready to be put together into the form
of a box. The pieces are nailed together,
not by hand, but by machines. The only
thing done by hand is the lids Workmen
take a narrow strip of cloth and paste it
on the edge of the lid in order to form a
hinge for the box. This being done, the
inside Innings and labels are affixed. Let
tering on the wooden sides OF cigar boxes
is done by printing presses much heavier
than in newspaper offices.
"a great deal of care is taken in select
ing labels for it is not uncommon that
gorgeous, high-colored Autographed label
sells cigar. But only the poorer grades
of cigars are now advertised by means of a
aaring label. The better grades of cigars
have, as a rule, neat and inconspicuous
g. Ha1 10
commend their good points to smokers by
wise or witty motto, while others are
content with pretty Spanish or Cuban
home scene. Yet these modest labels are
quite an item in the cost of box, as
rich, quiet-looking label may cost about
five or six cents apiece.
"There is a mystery about cigar boxes,
namely, where do they go after once being
used? The law requires that The stamps
and printed sides shall be defaced, and
thus the box is rendered useless. A great
many boxes are made over into new ones.
A large box holding $50 cigars can easily
be cut down into one holding 100. One
manufacturer recently endeavored TO get
around the law by cutting up the old boxes,
and by calling it kindling wood was not
prevented for time from using boxes over
again. But most of the boxes are really
used for frewood. As good cigar box
costs from three to six cents, it seems
wasteful to use them in this way. Old
cigar boxes are put to all kinds of curious
uses. Some are kept by lovers for their
letters; others take the place of safe, and
are used to hide money in; while others
still are used for nail boxes. Thousands of
boxes which every year are cast aside after
having been mutilated and defaced, go no.
body knows where"