Cigar Box Lithographs - Humber, Charles J.

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Résumé :
CIGAR BOX LITHOGRAPHS: The Inside Stories Uncovered is a thought-provoking production exposing its readership to more than 160 vintage cigar boxes manufactured during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Most convey stunning litho- graphs that portray prominent historical figures. Such cigar boxes during the 19th century attracted a massive smoking cliental numbering in the millions.... While puffers more than one hundred years ago likely recognized the prominent personalities peering at them from the inside labels of these wooden cigar boxes, those same headlined names, today, are now essentially erased from memory. Lew Wallace (1827- 1905), portrayed in this stunning portrait label, is virtually a forgotten name today. World-famous during his day, he was not only a Major General during the Civil War but became more famous when he wrote what some consider to be the best-selling novel of the 19th century. His Ben Hur (see page 34), a novel that was turned into a Hollywood blockbuster winning a record eleven Oscars in 1959, was certainly the most read and the best-known book title during the 20th century, that is, until it was superseded by Gone with the Wind in the 1930s. By examining the cartouche to the left of this stunning label portrait, one detects Wallace's role as a General during the Civil War, especially at the Battle of Shiloh. The cartouche to the right of his portrait details his writing studio in Crawfordsville, Indiana. This is where his most famous novel was written. Cigar boxes from the past often became an educational platform inadvertently recording and preserving history. To this day, this nearly 120-year old collectible cigar container whispers its provocative past, that is, providing one takes time out to lift its lid and peer at the lithographic image waiting to be re-discovered or uncovered.... Peer long enough and the box just might whisper its past to you.

Biographie:
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Sommaire:
Charles J. Humber, born, Montreal, Quebec, 1936. He graduated, B.A., 1962, from Temple University , Philadelphia. As an undergraduate, he also attended the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, 1960-61. He pursued graduate work at the University of Toronto, studying under the legendary H. Northrop Frye before attending the University of Wisconsin, Madison, graduating with his M.A.,1970. After twenty years as a high school teacher, Charlie ventured into the world of publishing. His first book, Loyal She Remains, sold 50,000 copies in 1984 and was chosen by the Ontario government as the official gift to both Her Majesty The Queen and His Holiness Pope John Paul II when both these dignitaries visited Ontario, the trillium province, in 1984. Charles J. Humber has edited or written sixteen books including the seven --volume CANADA Heirloom Series (1986-2000).Charles and Gayle Jenkins, his California-born wife, were married just shy of sixty years when Gay passed away in March, 2020. They became the proud parents of Kristan Laura, Karyn Anna, and twins Charles William and Scott Nicholas. In due course they became the grandparents of eight grandchildren. Charles and Gayle made Mississauga, a sub-name linked to the Ojibwa (see this volume pages 118-120), Ontario, their home base since 1962....