Larry, here's a
little history about the cigar store Indian some might find
interesting...
History
Because of the general
illiteracy of the populace,
early store owners used descriptive
emblems or figures to advertise
their shops' wares; for example,
barber poles advertise
barber shops,
show
globes advertised
apothecaries and the
three
gold balls represent
pawn shops. American Indians
and
tobacco had
always been associated because American Indians introduced tobacco to
Europeans,
and the depiction of native people on smoke-shop signs was almost inevitable. As
early as the 17th century, European tobacconists used figures of American
Indians to advertise their shops.
Because European carvers had never seen a
Native American, these early cigar-store "Indians" looked more like black slaves
with feathered headdresses and other fanciful, exotic features. These carvings
were called "Black Boys" or "Virginians" in the trade. Eventually, the European
cigar-store figure began to take on a more "authentic" yet highly stylized
native visage, and by the time the smoke-shop figure arrived in the Americas in
the late 18th century,
it had become thoroughly "Indian."
Today
The cigar store Indian
became less common in the 20th century
for a variety of reasons. New sidewalk-obstruction laws, higher manufacturing
costs, restrictions on tobacco advertising, and increased racial sensitivity
relegated the figures to museums and antique shops.
[4]
To some, the cigar store Indian is considered the native equivalent of the black
lawn
jockey
?a
stereotypical portrayal of
Native Americans; however, cigar store Indians are still made for sale and can
be found outside cigar stores.
Source:
https://search.yahoo.com/search?p=tobacco+Store+Indian&ei=UTF-8&fr=moz35Cheers,
Brian
My Flickr page:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ur4chun8/
My photos according to "Interestingness"...
http://fiveprime.org/hivemind/Tags/Brian,Wallace,3d
Capture Maryland:
http://www.capturemaryland.com/users/Starg82343
To: anaglyphs(-at-)yahoogroups.com
From: anaglyphs(-at-)yahoogroups.com
Date: Mon,
13 Oct 2014 15:49:43 -0500
Subject: Re: [Anaglyphs] Wooden Indian [1
Attachment]/ Brian
Brian, that is a cool wooden Indian, I wonder how old it is and if it was
made for a tobacco store.
LR
Sent: Sunday, October 12, 2014 11:56 PM
Subject: [Anaglyphs] Wooden Indian [1 Attachment]
As I was walking
by one of the bars on one of the main streets in Annapolis, I found this guy
standing by the door.
Cha cha, Nikon D600,
PS-CS6, ACR, SPM, IrfanView
Cheers,
Brian
My Flickr page:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ur4chun8/
My photos according to "Interestingness"...
http://fiveprime.org/hivemind/Tags/Brian,Wallace,3d
Capture Maryland:
http://www.capturemaryland.com/users/Starg82343