September 25th, 2009 — Cigar Bands, Collectibles
Cigar bands have a rich history, or more accurately, several histories. They’ve been attributed to the Russian queen Catherine the Great, and 19th century England, among other places. One story says that Catherine the Great ordered that her cigars be wrapped in silk to protect her fingers from becoming stained, so that afterwards, rings made of silk were put on cigars to mimic the queen. But even if she had smoked cigars (which there’s no evidence of) and had ordered silk wrappings, that probably wouldn’t have given birth to cigar bands on cigars made in faraway Cuba.
Another version says that in the 1800s, English ladies worried about soiling their white gloves while smoking cigars so they were wrapped with cigar bands allowing them to hold their stogies without staining their hands. And while apparently Spanish cigars from that era actually could stain your fingers, thanks to a chicory-shaded gum that wrapped them, dark wrappers were out of vogue by the middle of the century anyway.
And another version of the origin of cigar bands said they were designed to hold poorly rolled cigars together. Yet, cigar bands were supposed to in no way constrict the cigar. Cigar rolling in Cuba is an art form, with each cigar shaped, packed and rolled by hand. A band to hold it together is unnecessary, and a tight band would alter the density of the cigar, ruining the handwork by the masters. Also, Cuban cigars should have the bands removed before smoking, dispelling this theory.
As the finest cigars in the world have always come from Cuba, their version is more likely to be accurate. Gustave Bock ordered paper rings bearing his signature to be placed on every exported cigar. Banding was common by the middle of the 19th century. The band on a cigar became a badge of honor—people wanted to smoke cigars with cigar bands that bore certain brand names. With the popularity of cigar smoking in Americe, US makers upped production and bands were considered an unnecessary expense. By by the turn of the century, 80% of men in America smoked cigars, and cigar bands became a selling point for certain brands of cigars. Even cheap cigars bore colorful bands as part of their appeal to the consumer.
Cigar bands became throwaway items that people started clamoring to collect, much like matchbooks and bottlecaps. New band styles would sell out quickly, and albums for their collection were handed out by store owners and tobacconists. Then, similar to how green stamps worked, consumers could collect cigar bands and turn them in for other items household items like silverware, bedroom sets, footballs or magazine subscriptions. You could even combine them with tin tags from snuff and coupons from cigarettes.
The cigar bands most in demand are from this era and before. You can usually find vintage lots of cigar bands in online auctions for little money, though some of the more rare brands and designs command higher prices.
Originally posted 2008-10-19 05:00:35. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
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September 10th, 2009 — Collectibles, Decorative Collectibles, Tapestries
A wall tapestry can be a beautiful addition to your home, whether it’s a reproduction or an antique piece. A tapestry is much more than a woven cloth that covers the wall, it’s often a piece of history that tells a story, and speaks about the period in which it was created. The weaving used to make tapestries was considered one of the major art forms in ancient times, and while many new, modern tapestries are done with machines and focus more on the design than the craftsmanship, you can still find reproductions that are done painstakingly by hand in much the same way original tapestries were created.
Entire stories were told in wall tapestry in times past. Homer’s works were represented in tapestry form, as were other important books, stories from the Bible, and major historical events. Castles and compounds often displayed tapestries, as the aristocracy often owned hundreds of them. Tapestries were status symbols, speaking of wealth and affluence, and their impressive size made them perfect for covered stone castle walls and hallways.
The subject of wall tapestry changed with the times, moving from telling stories of battles and religion to more romantic subjects around the year 1200, during the Gothic period. This revived wall tapestry as an art form after a period of very little creation aside from painting and some needlework. Romantic stories were depicted in each tapestry, with each piece telling a full story. During the Renaissance, the subjects of wall tapestries changed again along with the paintings of the era, to symbolism and imagery. There was less focus on the need to tell a story, but instead they were designed to make an impression.
Most of the best tapestries were produced in Paris from the Middle Ages onward. But during the Hundred Years War, many were destroyed, either from the simple destruction of the violent time, or because many were made with thread that contained precious metals like silver and gold, so the tapestries were burned to retrieve the valuable metals within them. A wall tapestry you might find today would most likely only date back to the Renaissance. Most of these valuable pieces of art are owned by the wealthy, or they’re house in museums. It’s unlikely that the common collector could afford such a piece.
Fortunately, a wall tapestry reproduction is still an amazing piece of art, so much so that they’re quite expensive also, though only a fraction of what a real antique wall tapestry would cost. The only ones worth considering are the ones that are handmade and are true to the original. While you can buy “tapestries” today that are relatively cheap, they’re turned out quickly and lose much of the charm of the original. A true reproduction wall tapestry contains such craftsmanship, it can take up to 4 years to complete. When you find a wall tapestry online ask to see a picture of the back—the design on the back will show you whether it’s truly a handmade piece.
Originally posted 2008-11-14 05:18:33. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
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