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Vintage Portal Main >> Articles >> Tobacciana
Cigar Shop Indian Statues
Tobacco is one of the native commodities to the Americas. The first
accounts of an individual smoking is believed to be traced back to the Mayan
Indians, which was well over 2,000 years ago. Thru migration of the Mayan
Indian tribes, the North American Indian tribes were soon introduced to the
cigar -shaped tobacco products as well. Hundreds of years later, the Spanish
Conqueror Hernando Cortes took tobacco seeds to Europe. It was then that
tobacco was grown and used as a highly profitable commodity in global
exchange.
Professional carvers were well known for the hand carved pieces that they
created for the figureheads on a ship. These ships were used to transport
the tobacco from one country to another during the height of overseas
transport. As time progressed, the professional carvers noticed that calls
for their trade was declining, so they turned their focus elsewhere. Thus
began the creation of the hand carved cigar shop Indians.
Many of the carvers lives in Eastern seaboards or Midwestern cities, and
therefore had never encountered a Native American. Therefore, many of the
first cigar store Indians were created with the white men figure dressed in
native clothing. As time progressed, the Native American features took over,
and in turn began the now well known Native American cigar shop carvings.
Cigar shop owners sought after the statues, as the statues set them apart
from other dealers that were selling tobacco as well. Owning a hand carved
Native American statue was by far a sign of prestige.
Vintage hand carved statues are by far one of the most regarded and highly
priced pieces for a tobacciana collector. Although they are not too hard to
come by, they are indeed highly expensive, often times ranging in the
thousands of dollars, depending on its condition and age. The craftsmanship
that goes into each and every hand carved piece is by far unsurpassed by no
other, as each and every piece is unique. It is reported that in the late
20th century, some of these statues were being sold at a rate of $100,000.
No matter what the price is for these pieces, the history, craftsmanship and
popularity is truly priceless.
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