The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1899-09-26
CIGAR LABELS DECEPTIVE.
They Don't Indicate the Quality Of
the Article.

A brand or label or mark put upon an
article Is commonly supposed to Indicate
to The purchaser, actual or possible, the
nature OF the article itself. In regard to
cigars this superstition has only a basis
of truth. Most consumers Of cigars know
their "favorite brands" as they call them.
and feel pretty confident about the quail
ity of these brands If they buy their CT
gars at counters where they have always
obtained good ones. But few consumers
can tell even approximately vat will be
the size and shape of the cigao contained
in box marked, for instance, "Conchas
Regalias."
There is much difference between a
"brand" Of cigars and 'label." "A good
brand is very often taken to mean "a
good quality" Very likely that was the
original intention Of cigar brands, as it
still is Of whisky brands. But by the
actual present custom of the trade the
name which is burned or branded. on the
wood of the cigar box, the brand" prop
erly SO called, has no necessary connec-
ton with the quality Of the cigar, but
only accidentally, so far as some particu-
lar make peculiar to one factory may be
for the time exclusively applied to the
manufacture of good tobacco. The
"brand' tells the cigar seller something
about the size and shape of the cigar, As
years go on the application of these
brands becomes more and more loose and
irregular. Until recent years there used
to be a regular graduation Of size in
about this order, beginning with the lar
gest: a. Perfecto, (2 Puritano, (3) Con-
cha and ~ Conchita. Even this arrange
ment was not by any means the earliest.
RegaIia was known to the trade as des-
ignation of large size long before any
body ever heard of Perfecto. Henry
Clay was once brand indicative of both
size and quality, brand and label in
one, when the cigar was made in only
one Havana factory, and later results Of
competition, as well as of Cuban dis
turbances, are seen in the actually pre-
vailing scale of brands. As brand differs
from brand in shape as well as in length,
it would take much complicated mathe-
NAUTICAL research to place the brands in
the exact order Of the volume of tobacco
indicated by each.
Roughly speaking, however, they run.
beginning with the largest, as follows:
Cd Perfecto Elegante, ~ Perfecto Elmo,
81 Purtano Elmo, thick cigar; ~ Pu-
ritano Extra, % Breva, thick and blunt;
H) Breva Chica, "a Concha Regalia, 80
Concha Especial, (9) Conchta, 90 Reina
Fina, 1D Petit Due, 12) Opera and Q3)
Chiquita.
About all this matter Of brands nothing
is so certain as that the whole business
is in shifting and revolutionary condi-
ton. Thus the Panetela, not mentioned
above, would be placed by some after the
Perfecto, because it is about as long, and
by others after the Concha, because it is
thinner. 1t was much easier to maintain
a hard and fast rule when the whole ci-
gar making industry was ostensibly con-
fined to Havana and all cigars, even il
made elsewhere, had to pretend to Ha-
vana origin and conform to Havana Gus
toms in order to maintain the Illusion
1t is curious to note, however, that fac
tories ull over the world still stick to
Spanish words and traditions in branding
and labelling their output. II Rhode Is
land cigar maker wishes to say that this
box is something really uncommonly fine.
he marks it 'Dclciosos." The colors of
Spain still r3le i'll the ribbons that tie
bundles Of cigars-yelow and red, the
latter very rare. When Cuba has be-
come Americanized, red, white and blue
ribbons may make their appearance in
cigar boxes, but that sign of the times
has not yet been observed.
No less curious is the persistently glar-
ing Spanish character of the labels and
all the decoration in gold and colors on
the inside of the lid of a cigar box The
name of the photographer, with "New
York" may be printed small. but quite
legihlc, in Il corner of the design, but the
design itself must have a Havana air
about it. Portraits of American and
English public characters have to be done
for this purpose as if the individuals were
seen through Candy Habanero spectacles.
Chauncey M. Depew gets a look of a to-
reader; Lillian Russell, in LA Flor dc
Libby" has to look like scnorta; the
Prince of Wales bazes with most un-
characteristic aud I'M British brilliancy.
The same conservatism is often seen in
the choice of the names themselves One
advanced maker has named his cigars
"Cuhan Pluck in plain, collo1uial Amer
ican but the restoration Of amity be-
tween Spain and this country is ceiebrat-
ed in Spanish by la Combination" and
Eel Principe Alfonso" still keeps his
place in glowing colors though the origi-
nal long ugo passed through kinship to
the grave, and his child is no longer |
SOVEREIGN of Cuba New York Tribune.