Original "inside" cigar box labels for PRIDE OF BALTIMORE, GEO. SCHAFER CIGAR CO. BEST PRICE ON eBay!!
Quantity of four. Price shows at 6 cents. Upper right corner says "Hole-In-Head; Don't-Bite, Just-Lite" with drawing.
Art and wording are all embossed from the back, to "stand out" when looking at from front of label.
Each label measures 8 7/16" x 6 5/8".
Following is some info on cigar making in Baltimore:
"Baltimore Cigar-Making Has Virtually Vanished."
Article from "The Cumberland News", Cumberland, MD. Dec. 19, 1974
Article from "The Cumberland News", Cumberland, MD. Dec. 19, 1974
What does Fire-King, Iraba, Caton ·, Uncle Willie, Imperios, Nacirema and 'the El Balfa have to do with Baltimore? Those were just several of the many cigars that used to be produced here as part of a once prosperous industry that has now virtually vanished. Contrary to the popular belief that most cigars were made in the tropics, Baltimore was home to more than 132 factories that produced 350 million cigars just 50 years ago. Instead of Cubans, Lithuanians' Jews, Germans and everyday Baltimoreans practiced the craft in either factories or homes. Many of the cigar rollers were women, who would roll the leaves into an endless succession of perfectos and coronas for $15 a week. The father of H.L. Mencken, Baltimore's noted journalist, operated a cigar factory on Paca St., and young Mencken was apprenticed to learn the business. While he refused to enter his father's trade, Menken did remain faithful to Baltimore cigars, chewing and smoking
Uncle Willies, produced by the Schaefer-Pfaff Co. H.C. Pfaff had founded his company in 1890 in a small building at Mosher and Carey streets in the downtown district. George Schaefer, who founded his business in east Baltimore at Aliceanna and Wolfe streets, bought out Pfaff in 1929. The new company continued to make its old favorites, having combined both lines when the firms merged. Monument Square, Clifton Park, Fire King and Uncle Willie were popular brands not only in Baltimore, but in the surrounding trade territory as well. Schaefer-Pfaff and other firms began fighting a losing battle, however, with the advent of the automated cigar-making machine in the early 1920's. Thousands of cigar rollers were thrown out of work, and the hand-crafted cigar became a thing of the past. Schaefer-Pfaff continued to make cigars with machines until 1963, when the company was bought by the T. E. Brooks Co., of Red Lion, Pa. But that sale ended cigar making in Baltimore. Edward Thompson, one of the owners of T. E. Brooks Co., said the firm still does a brisk business with the old Schaefer-Pfaff line, selling nearly a million Uncle Willies annually. The firm also continues to produce Pride of Baltimore along with Clifton Park and Monument Square. Thompson attributes the demise of the small factories here to their inability to compete against the large manufacturers and the public's preference for cigarettes. The end result, however, is that the remains of Baltimore's cigar industry are enshrined in a handful of cigars marketed, but no longer made there.
Uncle Willies, produced by the Schaefer-Pfaff Co. H.C. Pfaff had founded his company in 1890 in a small building at Mosher and Carey streets in the downtown district. George Schaefer, who founded his business in east Baltimore at Aliceanna and Wolfe streets, bought out Pfaff in 1929. The new company continued to make its old favorites, having combined both lines when the firms merged. Monument Square, Clifton Park, Fire King and Uncle Willie were popular brands not only in Baltimore, but in the surrounding trade territory as well. Schaefer-Pfaff and other firms began fighting a losing battle, however, with the advent of the automated cigar-making machine in the early 1920's. Thousands of cigar rollers were thrown out of work, and the hand-crafted cigar became a thing of the past. Schaefer-Pfaff continued to make cigars with machines until 1963, when the company was bought by the T. E. Brooks Co., of Red Lion, Pa. But that sale ended cigar making in Baltimore. Edward Thompson, one of the owners of T. E. Brooks Co., said the firm still does a brisk business with the old Schaefer-Pfaff line, selling nearly a million Uncle Willies annually. The firm also continues to produce Pride of Baltimore along with Clifton Park and Monument Square. Thompson attributes the demise of the small factories here to their inability to compete against the large manufacturers and the public's preference for cigarettes. The end result, however, is that the remains of Baltimore's cigar industry are enshrined in a handful of cigars marketed, but no longer made there.