Mid Century Cigar Boxes

Today was a lucky find day for me. On my way to church to set up for a dinner tomorrow, I came upon a yard sale. It was mostly guy stuff and kind of junky, but these two cigar boxes jumped out at me.

My love for cigar boxes takes me back to a time when Florida was a much different place. Cigars were rolled by hand in a town called Ybor City, just east of where I live. Many of the old factory buildings still stand. I like to reminisce of what life was like for people back then, my mother, aunt and grandparents included.

They came to Florida in the 1940's from New York in search of better things. They were able to build a little motel and carve out a great life for themselves and their two kids. That pre-Disney, pre-air conditioning land that had a vibe all its own. I love hearing stories about how the phone lines didn't come out where they lived. They cut off just a few blocks south, so they had to rely on drive-by traffic to get customers for their little motel.

No UPC codes anywhere on these!

These boxes take me back to those days.

The bottoms of my boxes have specific markings on them. One is marked with "Factory No. 70 District LA. These markings apparently refer to regulatory tax markings, as the cigar industry was strictly regulated by the government.

Cigars have been made in Cuba for over 500 years. Tobacco grows well there due to the island's red soil, warmth, and humidity.

The industry moved to Key West, but due to fires and labor woes, they moved north.

That's how the industry came to the Tampa/Ybor City area in the 1880's. Cigar manufacturers had easy accecss to the Cuban leaves and the ability to ship the cigars from ports there.

Below is a screenshot of how Corina Cigars looked with the original logo on the building.I'm so grateful to companies like Google Maps for their ability to preserve these memories. What a wonderful treasure that will be for future generations.  It's now an office building and much of its charm may be lost in the future.

Photo courtesy of googlemaps.com.

There is still a cigar factory in Ybor City that is still in operation and that gives tours for just $15.00. It's called the J.C. Newman Cigar Company. It's on my bucket list for sure. So if you're interested in this old (albeit stinky) industry, you may want to look into it. And if you're out thrifting and stumble upon one of these boxes, you won't regret picking it up, especially if it's just fifty cents!

My grandparents in 1940's-1950's Florida.