Is this a Cigar Box Label? General Washington?

CraigCoGuy

Hello. New to Forum with a question. I found this between the pages of an old book.  I can not find anything on the internet about it.  General Washington also doesn't show up as a cigar brand.  I am stumped!  It is embossed woven metal, 4 3/8" x 8".  It says, "Warranted, General Washington, Hand Made."  Any ideas?

silvermouse

I looked around  the web but just found your posts about this on a couple other sites.

CraigCoGuy

I know, there is nothing else.  Do you think it's tobacco related?

Yakster

I wonder if it's for a firearm. Warranted makes me wonder if it's something other than a cigar, but I think that word was pretty common in advertising copy back then.

As for cigars, everybody seemed to have their own brand back then so it could be. Not sure the tie between Washington and tobacco.

CraigCoGuy

Yakster, maybe?  But I would think there would be something firearm related in the logo.  This shows plants, but it is hard to tell what kind of plant.

CraigCoGuy

Also Yakster, this label would be pretty expensive to make compared to a paper label.  So if it was a personal brand, the guy would have to be really rich.  I am at a loss.  If it was a firearm, you think it should still show up in a list of gun makers.  I even thought it looked a little like a bed mattress labels, but it is to fragile for that.

deadman

Thought Washington grew hemp. 

VegasFrank

I don't know if woven metal was a common insert into a box of cigars, either now or back a hundred years ago or more. Maybe, but how would that effects of humidity? and what kind of metal is it? If it's something that oxidizes then that would definitely get all over the cigars which are theoretically kept in a humid environment

The plant depicted on the logo does not really remind me of a tobacco leaf. I mean if anything, it reminds me of a marijuana leaf or some sort of tree leaf.

I guess the question would be what kind of product would come with a woven metal insert like this? Did tobacco used to come like this? I would assume that cigars would say hand rolled instead of handmade. Interesting mystery

IndustMech

Maybe it's tea

peter4jc

Found it.  Came on a box of condoms.

deadman

peter4jc said:

Found it.  Came on a box of condoms.

The OG iron dome

TheCigarChick

It was not uncommon for cigars to be packaged in tins in the early 20th-century — even good ole’ Dutch Masters came in tins in the early 1900s — but I‘m wondering if your piece was from Nicholas Kuhnen’s tobacco business.

Kuhnen was a Prussian who immigrated to Davenport, Iowa & opened a cigar shop. Before & after the Civil War he would give away free tobacco seeds to locals in hopes they too would farm tobacco, but it didn’t quite work out. Kuhnen was still very successful and had a number of cigar brands, including  “G Washington Cigars” which were made until 1915 or so and came in metal tins. He had one of the largest cigar factories in the US at his apex in the 1880, but was a bit of a sweatshop-style boss, & so he was the subject of labor strikes spearheaded by the International Cigar Maker’s Union.

BKDog

Well, my search led me to Washington riding a pterodactyl and now my life is complete.

And that's all I've got.

Rhamlin

CraigCoGuy said:

Hello. New to Forum with a question. I found this between the pages of an old book.  I can not find anything on the internet about it.  General Washington also doesn't show up as a cigar brand.  I am stumped!  It is embossed woven metal, 4 3/8" x 8".  It says, "Warranted, General Washington, Hand Made."  Any ideas?

Cool find!