Uprights are a distinct form of packaging in which cigars stand on end instead of laying flat. The vast majority of uprights are made of tin or glass but you can find them made of plastic, pottery, porcelain, pewter, brass, aluminum, silver-plate, foil and, of course, wood. Uprights have been around since the 1700’s when the first barrels and cabinets were packed with cigars standing on end. Consumer size uprights pre-date our Civil War.
Cigarmakers like uprights; retailers don’t. Non standard upright shapes have never packed well into shelves or cigar cases already filled with relatively uniform rectangular boxes. Even when an upright fit into the cigar case, the ad copy was hidden by the open lids of the boxes surrounding it.
Another disadvantage is that cigars that stand on end cannot be easily seen by customers, and cigar smokers are notoriously fussy about selecting their own cigar from a box. This meant a lot of extra package handling by clerks.
One box maker put it, “Uprights are so hard to use inside a cigar case -- they’ve got so many disadvantages -- that retailers are practically forced to display them on top of the counter, up front, where they’ll get seen.” That, of course, was why cigarmakers loved them. Retailers quickly learned the value of top counter for impulse items, so only the best selling cigars could hold that position.
Not all uprights were created for retail display. Many were designed to appeal to gift givers, or simply smokers who liked a pretty package. Whatever the market the goal of the package was to sell the package.
How many different ways can you pack a cigar standing on end? Man is incredibly creative.
On End: Uprights 1850-2000
A National Cigar Museum Exhibit
© Tony Hyman
European mid 1800’s table cigar holder.
Turn the top knob, six panels swing open,
each holding three cigars. A music box is
built into the bottom. Gears are wooden and
almost never in good condition. [2894]
Less fancy model, without the music box.
These are not retail packages, but shown here
because they were in common use on tables and desk tops during the mid-1800’s, providing a home
for cigars purchased loose at the store. [2896]
Earliest upright in the NCM collection, this cardboard can was hand made in Cuba, c1855.
The flat top and bottom are hand sewn with
waxed thread. Curator’s favorite
[3524]
Comes with instructions on how to open the package, a guarantee of Cuban authenticity by the Governor General, and bilingual explanation of how the cardboard package will protect the cigars
during a long sea voyage. [3525]
Box of cigars with note glued inside,
“Christmas 1865, from Mother to Father.”
Appears to be hand carved. Probably not
commercial packaging, but irresistible.
[9835]
Laminated, steam bent, glued wooden upright
holding OZONE cigars, mid 1870’s. Wooden sides
are less than 1/16th of an inch thick.
[2868]
Cigars by J. Holzman, NY City, 1878.
Octagonal, each panel fits into grooves
cut in the uprights. A lot of custom work!
[2877]
Cigars by Sutro & Newmark, NY City, 1878.
Wooden upright decorated to look like a
media rueda, or half wheel of 50
THE LATEST brand cigars.
[2878]
Used by Brown Bros., one of Detroit’s larger cigar makers, reportedly as a gimmick SOUVENIR package for their 1876 Centennial display.
Turned 25/up, Fact. 902, 1st Michigan, located at 228 Jefferson Ave. in 1884 [2839]
NY City’s J. Holzman packed PIPER HEIDSIECK brand cigars in these 1878 hand turned, parts not interchangeable, wooden bottles. Tops were originally foiled and wired like bottles.
[2886]
COUNTRY CLUB cigars by L. Kahner, Fact. 65, 3rd Dist. NY City (202 E. 100th Street), c1890.
Silver plate by Bristol Plate Co., #4922.
[2842]
Very few of these silver-plated bottles were used as retail cigar boxes, but were after-market humidors.
Some versions have a scew-off base which
becomes an ashtray.
[2843]
This lovely 5.5” tall jar had a silver wash atop the raised vines. Used in the late 1880’s by Fact. 2,
5th Dist. NJ. A similar gold-washed 3.5” jar with an inset lid had been used for MILO cigarettes around the same time. [3364]
Eugene Valens offered their top grade of cigars
in this lovely jar with a nickel plated brass top
in the late 1800’s.
[2815]
St. Louis cigar maker, wholesaler and packaging innovator F.R. Rice’s name is found moulded into the top. Look closely and you’ll see the Factory ID
in the center rosette. Exact date of use unknown, probably about 1900 [2809]
“Boy cigar maker” Morton Edwin ordered this to sell in his chain of stores, but this very heavy jar does not seem to have appeared in his mail order catalog. Factory ID’s were required to be molded into the glass, typically on the bottom. [2811]
Unusual 1896 photographic CDV ad offering a five jar set to the trade for packing their cigars. Four pie-slice shaped jars held 25 each and the center could be ordered as a vase or a jar of 12 cigars.
[3661]
The CDV back lists reasons for the superiority of glass and a complete description of this unusual package set. Their offer includes a bouquet of fake flowers for the centerpiece. They suggest the jars are suitable for 10¢ cigars. [3662]
This uniquely shaped 50/up jar has a cardboard slip top lid and a top oval used as a label. 1901-1910
[2813]
Pottery jar reusable as a humidor used by
A.C. Brenckle of Milwaukee, Fact. 288, 1st WI.
Lid was hollow, cork plugged, and could be filled with water to keep cigars from drying out, c1900.
[2840]
Wheeling WV stogie makers used large numbers of cardboard cans in the 1800’s, one reason so few 19th century stogie boxes are found today. c1910
[2010]
Eight-sided cardboard can 50/up octagon used by a KY stogie manufacturer around 1912. Octagonal “uprights” are known in tin, wood, and glass as well but are most rare in cardboard.
[2858]
Benson & Hedges of Canada used this Mission style tin upright with embossed “jewels” and simulated hammer marks for it’s LILY brand cigars, c1915.
[4581]
No brand name is given on this metal Craftsman style box used by the Cuban-American Corp’s Factory 136 in Florida during the 1930’s.
[11521]
“Special Package” heavily embossed octagonal tin container used by Fact 1101, 1st PA. c1915.
“Rich as Cream.”
[2859]
1898 silver plated artillery shell
engraved CUBAN BRAND CIGARS.
Some day a more readable picture.
[9802]
“Presented to John Rea by Lieut. B.F. McLauhlin,
Co. E. 14 - N.Y.I. Chickamauga Park,
Aug. 19th, 1898”
[9803]
Paneled glass beer mug holding 25 cigars, patented December, 1907. Buy enuff boxes of cigars and you could have a set, a useful bonus decades before soap companies gave away glass in soap boxes. Fact. 531, 9th PA [9807]
Less useful but more decorative is this c1912 can
known to have been filled by at least two different cigar factories. D.C. Rose & Son (Fact. 53) in Corvalis Oregon filled this one. Curator’s favorite
[9804]
Mug themes continue, date unknown. Cigars by
Jos. Weinrich, 19 So. St. Clair St., Dayton, Ohio.
Unknown American pottery.
[9805]
HOUSE OF WINDSOR Palmas in special mug created for the 1980 Olympics. New cost $18.
The cigars originally sat inside the mug, raised
for the photograph.
[9806]
CUBATABACO Presidentes and SANCHO PANZA Tropaquitos were packed in these clever arboles during the 1970’s. The Presidentes were almost 8” long and cost $5 each.
[2865]
In Havana I saw a very wide squat arbole designed to hold 100 cigars, sitting on a shelf in one of the factories. Alas, I couldn’t find anyone with the authority to sell it to me. Cubatabaco’s 1972 catalog called them “Branch of a Tree Humidor.” [2866]
Nifty looking fired pottery barrel.
Exact dates of use unknown,
probably pre 1920.
[2835]
A well known long lived NY City cigar company
used this metal banded barrel of 50 in the
late 1920’s. Fact. 484, 3rd NY City.
[2834]
HAVANA BROWN is packed similarly to the previous. Note the lid and 1920’s-30’s tax stamp. Barrels are seldom found with paper labels intact.
Not in the NCM collection.
[w0091]
Philippine fitted laminated barrel. Post 1960.
[2836]
Canadian plastic barrel holding 50 “rum flavored wine dipped” cigars. The slot is original, indicating the box was intended to be reused as a bank.
[2838]
Tin cans began appearing around 1900 and
became popular after 1910. Tin cans are
featured in two NCM exhibits elsewhere.
[3003]
Hand constructed devices for filling tin cans.
Give the handles a squeeze to compress the
cigars enuff that they can be pushed
into the can.
[3005]
Push.
[3006]
Tin can uprights can be round with slip tops.
Stogie cans are usually about 1” taller than cigar cans. May be lithoed on tin or have paper labels. [9193] Tin cans are featured in two NCM exhibits elsewhere.
Tin can uprights can be oblong or oval, typically with hinged lids. These are found lithoed on tin
and with paper labels. [9191] Tin cans are
featured in two NCM exhibits elsewhere.
Tin can uprights can be square, holding 25 or 50 cigars. These are found lithoed on tin and with
paper labels. This EGRET was discovered
under an ugly paper label. [9192]
Glass-top hinged lids were popular
ad-ons obtainable from salesmen.
[2870]
Metal ad-on stand for square cans which holds the
can at an angle on top a counter. Brand name
and ad copy are prominent.
[2875]
Glass topped lids are found plain, etched, painted
and with decals,
[2871]
Tin stand for round cans which holds the can
at an angle on top a counter.
[4577]
Cardboard ring for round cans which holds the can
at an angle on top a counter. Same cigar maker
as used the tin stand seen above.
[3632]
The lid slides into a hinged holder on top the display stand so it doesn’t get lost as clerks and customers
dig for cigars. 1920’s.
[2874]
Using this type display stand requires
discarding the original lid.
[2873]
Inside a cigar counter the ad copy on cans
was hidden, so display tags became useful.
[3081]
Unusual wooden upright with tin lid
holding 10 premium cigars, 1920’s.
[2876]
History’s best known glass upright was created
in the 1920’s by Congress Cigar Co. for their
nationally selling Senators size. This heavy 16 sided creation replaced a round jar that was frequently dropped through the top of counters. [2821]
Hambone was a cartoon character here depicted in a Lindbergh satire. Fact. 417, 1st PA c1930.
Slant cut on the lid enabled cigars to be removed
more easily from the box.
[2610]
The brand dates back to the 1870’s. This unusual upright from 1913 held cigars made in Fact. 433,
6th Dist of California.
[2674]
Western themes have been around since the 1860’s. An outer label makes a perfect inner
for this square SBN upright with overall lid,
an awkward configuration.
[2887]
Unusual slip topped wood-cardboard
combination box I’ve only seen used
for one other brand.
[2848]
Satire on popular novel titled “Brewster’s Millions.”
This SBNHC upright held Londres Grande size cigars. Box shaped existed as early as 1910.
[2855]
Philadelphia retailer John Middleton ordered this classy octagon from Fact. 1000, 3rd NY City
in 1931. Quality construction on the box.
[2856]
Popular PA brand was sold in boxes,
cans, and uprights. 1920’s. The brand
was still around in the 1950’s and is
found as jumbos as well as cigars.
[2891]
BERING English Cabinet Selection No. 75
made by Coral Wodiska in Fact. 8, Customs District 18 bonded warehouse in Tampa in 1941.
Box by Autokraft. This was the first upright
in my collection, a gift from dad. [2846]
Another all-time upright classic is this late 1940’s
LA PALINA brass upright, allegedly made from
WWII surplus brass originally intended
for artillery shells.
[2888]
Vacuum cans, yet another entry in an
endless parade of ingenuity.
Fact. 55 Florida 1950
[3041]
Another old time brand from Consolidated,
a company known for clever packaging.
[3149]
Beautiful wooden 30/up with label designed
by Morton Annis. Cigars made in
TP 2429 Pennsylvania c1970.
Curator’s favorite. [2845]
Another of the all-time most popular uprights
is this 25/up dropfront used by American Tobacco Co. for their premium Cristales size in the 1950’s.
[2862]
Fully trimmed nailed wood upright with a dropfront held 35¢ clear-Havana cigars made in American Tobacco’s bonded warehouse in Trenton, NJ.
[9403]
No exhibit of uprights could fail to show this gimmick created by Autokraft (by accident according to the company president) for Consolidated Cigar Co., a major packaging innovator. Fact. 2, 1st PA 1952
[4356]
The later version with updated label
and front logo. Exact date of introduction
and use not known.
[2849]
Space-age design, a mixture of clean and colored plastic. Another gem from Consolidated. c1970.
Gift of Carl Hyman. [2851]
Consolidated does it again.
[2852]
These folks blow me away!
Creative winner after creative winner.
[2853]
How to keep your glass tubes from breaking.
TP 550 PA Made in the modern era after 1960.
[2863]
Opaline jar made in Belgium for
Dutch WILLEM II cigars.
[3169]
DUTCH MASTERS Presidents 25/up.
Consolidated keeps on rocking.
[3176]
Original package. Opal glass with plastic top
in a cardboard sleeve.
[3170]
Just when you think it’s impossible to create
a new design for upright cigars,
Consolidated does it again with this
DUTCH MASTERS Perfecto firkin.
[10406]
Just when you think you’ve seen it all, some creative soul in the Netherlands comes up with packing
cigars in an aluminum milk pail.
[9808]
This clever box originally came with 25 WHITE OWL Rangers sticking upright from his back. Sold by General Cigar Co., 1970’s [?]. The duck in the NCM collection doesn’t have the original package.
Original sleeve and cello wrap for this
lovely Indian jar. The cello shrunk,
warping the cardboard.
[2892]
Indian jar of GOLD LABEL.
[2841]
Plastic / cello bag in which cigars stand
upright. A creation of long-time cigar broker
A.J. Jerry Golden, to whom I owe a huge debt
for all the information he shared. c1960.
[3669]
Foil pack in which cigars
stood on end. Date unknown.
[2867]
Modern wood Mexican upright.
[2882]
150 years after the first uprights,
innovation still reigns supreme.
[2890]
Full page ad from late 1920’s Cuban magazine depicting a line of ceramic jars used by PARTAGAS and other companies. Very popular with
today’s collectors.
Neither the ad nor the jar are in the NCM.
[w0000]
Modern Cuban upright that held a bundle of 25
fine hand made cigars. Marked Habanos.
The only style leather upright I’ve seen, but one used by other Cuban cigar companies.
[10942]
At 9” x 5.5” this leather slip top is larger than most uprights in part because of the hygrometer built into the lid. Embossed map of Cuba decorates the back.
[10943]
Innovative Cuban upright from the 1940’s
created by the Ramon Allones brand.
Sadly, not in the NCM collection.
[w0000]
1930’s magazine ad for unusual upright used by American Tobacco Company for its popular LA CORONA brand. They called them ‘verticals.”
Ad not in the NCM collection.
[w0000]