The Internet Cigar Magazine

Cigar Label Art

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Ingredients consist of stones, greasy drawings, water and ink and paper to transpose the work on and a press to print it. The stone of choice was limestone from quarries in the Solenhofen area of Munich, Germany. These stones were cut in squares or rectangular shapes about 3 or 4 inches thick. Their surfaces were polished to a very smooth finish after each run and prepared for the next drawing.

The limestone has a natural grain that holds the greasy particles. The parts of the stone not covered by grease absorb water like a sponge. The drawing is done on the stone by the artist exactly as if it were a painting. The surface isn't altered or dug out, as in engraving. The stone has the quality of absorbing what is layered on the surface. The artist has the freedom of using crayon, pen, brush, razor, scraper, needles, spatula and etc.

The drawing is made on the stone in a greasy substance. The grease combines with the stone to form a chalky soap which attracts printing ink. The ink adheres only to the greasy lines of the drawing. The entire surface is wet and the grease rejects the floater, but the water remains on the rest of the stone surface.

The artist must reverse his drawing on the stone so that when it is

transferred to paper it will be viewed in the proper perspective. When the drawing is complete, the lithographer prepares the stone for printing, this is a very delicate procedure. Actual printing is coordinated by the artist and lithographer. Lithograph proofs are always made on a hand press. Color lithography requires each of the printing steps to be repeated for each color used, as each color requires a separate stone. If there are 10 colors, there are 10 stones. Registration is extremely important. Each stone has to be registered perfectly on the paper to insure the color aligning itself in the right place. Some labels have as many as 22 color combinations, as shown in the Dante label. Dante is one of the finest multi-colored images ever produced. The details of the devil and angels are vivid and strong. This label's design is complicated and time consuming to produce and is a stand alone masterpiece.

Most cigar labels used a top quality rag paper with clay and casein coatings. This gave the label a glossy tone and stabilizes the inks that were used. Every color in the rainbow is blended into these images. During this period the competition to sell cigars was strong and fierce. The stone lithography process was very expensive, but one of the best techniques

available to produce exquisite designs. The art work on most labels reach out and touch the viewer.

The cost for designing and printing the more colorfully designed labels could run as high as several thousand dollars. Labels were "made exclusively" for many wholesalers, while other cigars were packaged under "private" labels. King Coal is an example of a "private" label, it was designed and printed for KING COAL CIGAR FACTORY MANUFACTURES, of Trinidad.

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