Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1907-06-08
EXPENSIVE CIGARS.
Cost 81 to SIS, but Are Only Smoked on
Special Occasions.

Special Occasions.
A prominent tobacco importer Vi ,ni'
c,tv was asked the other day whether
there was anything extraordinary III
+bo Gift of S2.65 cigars sent to hhg
Edward VII. by Baron Rothschliu'
Tho boron. it appears, Is accustomed
70 send to the British ruler a pox OIL
these expensive Smokes" once every
year.
THAT'S not a record price by any
means" replied the importer.
He produced box of enormous cl-
CARS. rich brown in color, with fancy
red bands around them. These no
said, "retailed for 81 apiece.
"You can get them as high as So'
he added. Look at the Havana price
LIST here. You see this one? 1t costs
wholesale. without duty, $3.50 Inc
duty is somewhere in the neighDorhood
of 80 per cent. The cigar when we
cot II will sell for S4 Our profit there
fore will be more than so per cent
However we don't have enough de-
mond for such cigars to make Tor
tune on them.
1.-THE only time anybody buys suen a
thinp IS when he wishes to give II
away or TO use 1t for some specially
elaborate dinner. For instance, the
> other day a Wall street Spectator hau
birthday. and several of bis frienus
came to me and bought these 81 cigars
70 send TO him. Each friend bought
only one. We wrapped up the cigars
! in fancy paper and put them In ornate
e qilt lettered boxes for shipment to the
r sneculator. | remember too, dinner
given by a broker at which dozen
of the cigars were distributed by 'he
host l..
"The guests at that dinner were II
e hard luck. l know, for l saw Tue I'll
/ fects of n 81 smoke on one or III!
II friends. gave him one Of the cigars
ond watched him burn 1t up. The fea
required about two hours, and whei
he was through he told me he lei
10 Ike wreck. He said he'd stop smoK
IS ing altogether II he had to use Una
q sort of a cigar regularly. No, II WASH
TO the strength-the high priced one
", 10 usually are rather mild. 1t was III
time consumed In continuously pufnn
AWAY at the thing. Ordinarily eve
the most inveterate smoker takes
rest between cigars. In this case her
OF was no chance Of stopping, unless IL
&C. wished to miss part of the treat
he The 81 cigar is about eight or mn
wv inches long and proportionately bulk!
to According to the dealer, Its value u
en- en- pends principally upon the length
to tbe tobacco leaf from which 1t hi
my been rolled.
ice "Of course" he said, "the tobacco
Of the best quality, but quality in sma
leaves is plentiful The difficulty Is
find leaf of the size required ana
an the proper quality at the same time
scr should say that the leaf for this Gig
dis measured about two feet
5 "All the finest cigars come FRO
Cuba. We could get long leaves up
Connecticut. but they wouldn't be go'
enough. I've no doubt that there
much tobacco of big sizes In the Ea
nee indies. but there is no country ID
If rivals Cuba in the quality Of its toba
l ISe co crop. Undoubtedly the Rothschl
the gift to King Edward came from there
incidentally he told Of high prie
n. cigarettes. The most costly, ne
planned, was domestic variety that
ton sold for 500 a thousand, or ten Gel
ject .,too ubaro xvas no imDorted Gig
hen aplece' AH0i0
eai- cite costing so much, he said.
med "The 500 a thousand Sort" he
tiers planned. do not bring that price
e to cause of intrinsic quality, but larg'
con because of the fancy box in which tn
are packed They are larger Ill s
3D. than the average, but not even an
pert could detect superiority IN gu
ity over many cigarette costing Il
date than half as much. New York Fos'