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in 1959, was certainly the most read and the best-known book title during the 20th century, that is, until it was superseded by Gone with the Wind in the 1930s.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 of Mississauga, Ontario, was born in Montreal, has resided in Toronto, grew up in Boston, graduated from Temple University, Philadelphia, and has lived in Madison, where he earned his M.A., University of Wisconsin. He also studied at the University of Toronto, under Northrop Frye, one of the 20th century's most influential academics. While attending University of Alaska, Fairbanks, 1960-1961, he met Californian, Gayle Jenkins. Following their marriage, 1961, they raised four children: Kristy, Karyn and twins Charlie & Scott. Following his career as a high school in the Toronto area, Humber entered the publishing world, 1982. LOYAL SHE REMAINS, the first volume Mr. Humber published with his partners, became a national best seller. It was presented, in 1984, as the official gift to both Her Majesty The Queen as well as Pope John Paul when both visited Ontario for the province's 1984 Bicentennial. Publisher of Heirloom Publishing, 1985-2003, Humber oversaw the production of the CANADA Heirloom Series, a cycle of seven books, promoted as cultural ambassadors when government officials went on international trade missions to promote Canada abroad. Upon retirement, Mr. Humber continued to explore his antique interests, focussing on the intriguing lithographs on the inside lids of tens of thousands of cigar boxes made between 1885-1920. His endeavor has given due recognition to some five hundred illustrations from cigar boxes of that period and has gratified many followers as they rediscover the rich culture hidden inside these cigar boxes more than one century ago. This Volume III, plus Volumes I and II, in addition to the forthcoming Volume IV, all notably capture the contributions of our indigenous peoples, various writers, stage performers, war generals plus discoverers, industrial giants, inventors and much more. Similar to museum portrait galleries, but accompanied by vignettes, the volumes of this series afford one the prospect of peering into the past and re-capturing the history all of us missed growing up....