There was a time, I can't remember if it was high school or early college, when I smoked cigars. I mean, how cool was that, a girl smoking cigars. Wow, the people I must have impressed. I can still taste the nasty things, dainty little cherry-flavored chick cigars, the smoking equivalent of Boone's Farm wine. Then later, sometime after college, I took up the pipe. That was somewhat more refined, and I had (still have) some feminine pipes, a little metal cloisonne one and a purple painted wooden one. Neither worked worth a damn, and I remember the amusement of my uncle, who smoked a pipe for real, trying to teach me how to keep the stupid things going.
Neither of these habits was long-lived, fortunately, but I thought of them the other day when I was doing research on a new garage sale purchase--a beautiful antique cigar humidor. I was attracted to it because it's a beautiful box, a dark oak with a tin lining and a removable filter that could be wetted to keep the cigars moist. When I started looking around, trying to discover its age (1890s to early 1900s), I was reminded of the subculture that has grown up around different smoking options.
One of the most interesting websites I discovered was one that sells new humidors but also refurbishes antique ones to modern standards of cigar preservation. They take beautiful boxes like the one I'm selling (and, of course, ones much fanicer, made out of beautiful, rare woods with inlays and metal adornments and fanciful shapes), remove the lining; clean and refinish the wood if necessary; reline it with Spanish cedar; and fit it with modern moisture control devices (a humidifier and hygrometer).
Perfect for people who buy $10 cigars. (For those smoking cherry-flavored, girly cigars, a different receptacle will do.)
9 comments:
You smoked cigars? Cherry flavoured cigars? Too funny! I'm guessing they had the aroma of cherries rather than tasting like cherries? I've never tried smoking a cigar, but some of them do smell kind of nice.
No, they tasted a little like cherries too. I have a hard time with cherry-flavored things anymore--a combination of these cigars and some hard candies my grandma always had that I OD'd on.
Never could get into the whole cigar craze.....but I do love the humidor you found. Fantastic.
i'm smiling at the thought of you smoking a pipe or a cigar, it is just something you never see here in the UK.
I like the humidor though, nice wood.
Thanks for the research on the refurb humidors. I had one that I had bought from here awhile back, and spent a good fortune on it. However, over time, the hinges have started to give away due to (as I admit) quite a bit of abuse. Good option to get it repaired!
Thanks!
I tried one once. It was vanilla flavored. It wasnt nearly as glamourous as I thought it would be.
I do love that beautiful humidor.
I remember my cherry cigar smoking phase... how fun was that!
my husband and i were just talking about this last night--too funny! when we were growing up in the 60s there was a time when groups of women would get together and smoke little thin cigars and it was pretty cool and funny. some of my mom's friends did this and they really put it on--they had so much fun! people today take everything so seriously--most people are so anti smoking they would be horrified to see a bunch of women smoking cigars and drinking martinis with their white gloves on...oh well. you sound like fun!
We were all such bohemians! Hmmm...another time I'll tell about the time I tried chewing tobbacco (hint: don't swallow).
Post a Comment