This book is for all cigar aesthetes, the smoker passionately fond of ""puros"" as the Cubans call them with infinite respect. During the 19th century when gentlemen wore white gloves at society gatherings, tobacco often left dirty stains on their fingers because of the tobacco leaves which covered their cigars. Therefore, they asked their suppliers to surround them with a paper band for protection. Those bands became the armorial signet ring that identified a man. Recognition of a social status, commemorative symbol or, more simply, a mark of quality, the cigar band developed its own codification. Brilliant artists have lent their talent to create them. The collection represented is exceptional. These cigar bands tell us part of the story of the last 150 years, from the general of the Civil War, the Presidents of the United States of America, the Emperors of Germany to the delicate flowers reproduced by craftsmen.

In the highly anticipated new volume in Assouline’s bestselling Ultimate Collection, The Impossible Collection of Cigars envisions the ultimate humidor brimming with the most remarkable cigars of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries from the most prestigious makers. Like the pop of the Champagne cork, the flick of the lighter or the strike of the match and the first draw of the smoke are synonymous with celebration, relaxation, and comradery. A luxurious pause from the world around, an exceptional, hand-rolled cigar has cemented itself as a civilized passion and genteel hobby over the course of centuries.

Cigar-bands have sdorned cigars for more than 150 years. Until World War I they were produced and printed to the hightest quality using the best methods available, with the result that many cigar-bands of the time are genuine works of art. Images depicted on the bands are varied, but specific themes may be distinguished – flowers and foliage, for example, or heraldic ‘charges’, or of course portraits of contemporary rulers and celebrities. This book features nearly 1,800 cigar-bands drawn from the collection of Roger van Reeth, including some of the most beautiful, some of the rarest and some of the oldest. Their presence adds something special to what is already a special publication: the Flavour, perhaps, of a superb Havana cigar.

Designed to emulate traditional, full-sized books, the fashions of classic bookmaking -- full-color throughout, stylized endpapers, fine quality paper, full-length text, and Smyth-sewn binding -- are represented in this line.Topical. Traditional. Tactile. Tempting. Targeted. Less than half the size of our Little Books, these palm-sized volumes are irresistible.

As the English proverb states, better to have a dull pencil than a sharp mind, The Cigar Log Book gives enjoyers of cigars a place to record their tasting experiences as well as a place to collect cigar bands (I call them, cigart). This book also gives a brief description of the cigar anatomy, basic production steps from tobacco seed to cigar, and typical cigar structure and shapes. The majority of this book contains cigar entry pages to evaluate your cigars and document your experiences. By allowing you to record your tasting experiences, The Cigar Log Book will help you to identify your cigar palate so you can make the right choice next time you visit your local tobacconist.Let this book be your cigar journal and reference and keep it handy for use during your next cigar respite.To you and your cigars!

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.