tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-148647148793397155.post354523268330961474..comments2024-03-26T16:11:44.515-04:00Comments on All Things Ruffnerian, a Design Blog and More: Cigar CityMark D. Ruffnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09241533547309049140noreply@blogger.comBlogger22125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-148647148793397155.post-71176557012841480002012-06-30T10:06:49.688-04:002012-06-30T10:06:49.688-04:00Dear Devoted Classicist,
Though I've never sm...Dear Devoted Classicist,<br /><br />Though I've never smoked, I've nonetheless always been attracted to the rich history of tobacco graphics. It seems right that certain things like yoyos and piggie banks should be a part of every boy's childhood, and that storing smaller treasures in a cigar box should be a part of that heritage!Mark D. Ruffnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09241533547309049140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-148647148793397155.post-28949626265208275002012-06-29T21:35:57.338-04:002012-06-29T21:35:57.338-04:00Although the smell of a burning cigar makes me ill...Although the smell of a burning cigar makes me ill, it seems I always had a cigar box with beautiful graphics in which to keep my treasures as a child.The Devoted Classicisthttp://tdclassicist.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-148647148793397155.post-24493564999313552882012-06-28T23:02:36.073-04:002012-06-28T23:02:36.073-04:00I'll look for it!I'll look for it!Mark D. Ruffnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09241533547309049140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-148647148793397155.post-79956202358217402012-06-28T21:53:28.284-04:002012-06-28T21:53:28.284-04:00I'm sure he was mentioned. It was a terrific b...I'm sure he was mentioned. It was a terrific book. Who knew that Tampa Florida was a hot bed of criminal activity when back when? I never did until I read Ace's book. You might like it, Mark.Yvettehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08919246184376538331noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-148647148793397155.post-30074076645542572382012-06-28T21:39:15.636-04:002012-06-28T21:39:15.636-04:00I'll bet the White Shadow also mentioned Santo...I'll bet the White Shadow also mentioned Santo Traficanti, a Tampa crime boss who operated there for decades and never went to jail. He died in 1987 ...Mark D. Ruffnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09241533547309049140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-148647148793397155.post-88502733112707961492012-06-28T21:34:59.004-04:002012-06-28T21:34:59.004-04:00Hi, Yvette,
The lector, like the lamp lighter and...Hi, Yvette,<br /><br />The lector, like the lamp lighter and the typesetter, often appears on lists of interesting and extinct professions. Of course it gets a little scary when one can remember business dealings with people from those lists!Mark D. Ruffnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09241533547309049140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-148647148793397155.post-82602667086666513132012-06-28T16:38:06.539-04:002012-06-28T16:38:06.539-04:00I did just find the reference in one of my old rev...I did just find the reference in one of my old reviews from years ago for Mysteryink. And the book was, indeed, WHITE SHADOW. <br /><br />Ybor City, it was. Ah, memory links. Terrific when they work. :)Yvettehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08919246184376538331noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-148647148793397155.post-41632327710315880032012-06-28T16:26:39.910-04:002012-06-28T16:26:39.910-04:00I loved reading this, Mark. I had no idea. But as ...I loved reading this, Mark. I had no idea. But as I was reading I had one of those vague memory things that said: jeez, the name Ybor City is familiar.<br /><br />Perhaps I read about it in a crime thriller written by Ace Atkins that featured an infamous crime-filled Florida city in which an equally infamous murder occurred...(the murder of crime boss Charlie Wall in Tampa). It's possible Ybor was mentioned in passing. Maybe. Name of book: WHITE SHADOW.<br /><br />Anyway, I also enjoyed reading about the 'lector' - I love being read to aloud, can't imagine anything better if I had to do repetitive boring work all day long.<br /><br />What an interesting profession.Yvettehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08919246184376538331noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-148647148793397155.post-59155791653011131052012-06-26T09:32:02.386-04:002012-06-26T09:32:02.386-04:00Thank you teaorwine,
I had not heard that about M...Thank you teaorwine,<br /><br />I had not heard that about Marco Rubio's grandfather, but it would be a great bit of color to add to his political profile. Somewhere in NPR's archive's, there's an old recording of a lector doing a dialogue in different voices.<br /><br />I'm saving the Columbia for the next posting ...Mark D. Ruffnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09241533547309049140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-148647148793397155.post-50641856523915578872012-06-26T08:45:19.820-04:002012-06-26T08:45:19.820-04:00Wonderful piece on Ybor, a place full of history i...Wonderful piece on Ybor, a place full of history in Ol' Tampa. I enjoy wondering there, though only during the daylight. The Columbia is a lovely place for a bite, especially for their salad. I recently read where the grandfather of Florida Senator, Marco Rubio had been a lector in the cigar factories there. <br />best, <br />teaorwineteaorwinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17569214378018984731noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-148647148793397155.post-80520604860925164422012-06-24T15:53:56.841-04:002012-06-24T15:53:56.841-04:00Dear Rosemary - I can imagine the cigar box you...Dear Rosemary - I can imagine the cigar box you've described. My father went on a trip to the Phillipines and was gifted with a cigar box that had the host's initials carved into it. I was so upset when I moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and that box warped terribly out of shape. Years later I moved to Florida and the box warped back into its original shape! What a happy, surprise ending!Mark D. Ruffnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09241533547309049140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-148647148793397155.post-62747779388299017772012-06-24T15:47:34.982-04:002012-06-24T15:47:34.982-04:00So true. I'm always amazed by the early photog...So true. I'm always amazed by the early photographs of St. Petersburg, Florida that show turn-of-the-century fishermen. In virtually every photo, they're standing on a dock on a hot summer day, wearing ties, and sometimes even vests!Mark D. Ruffnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09241533547309049140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-148647148793397155.post-90576637535248972272012-06-24T14:56:58.953-04:002012-06-24T14:56:58.953-04:00Dear Mark - you are very talented with your illust...Dear Mark - you are very talented with your illustrative work. <br />I love the story of the box and the hair being all wrong for the President of the cigar company.<br />Seeing your lovely boxes made me go in search of one we have, but I could not find it. Must be in the attic somewhere from when we last moved.<br />I remember it had an inlaid carved top and was gifted to H when he went on a UN mission to Cuba. Wherever the box is, it still holds all of its fat cigars, as H doesn't smoke.Rosemaryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03814070177137076757noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-148647148793397155.post-27686508814251567412012-06-24T13:36:48.346-04:002012-06-24T13:36:48.346-04:00Mark, I like how the all workers / cigarmakers are...Mark, I like how the all workers / cigarmakers are dressed in white shirts....some with their hats. I think the gentleman in the front is wearing a bow tie. You wouldn't see factory workers dressed that way now.Woodside Parkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13981644571968878448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-148647148793397155.post-26628159681100537882012-06-24T12:58:48.855-04:002012-06-24T12:58:48.855-04:00Hi, Loi -
Looking at that room with hundreds of w...Hi, Loi -<br /><br />Looking at that room with hundreds of workers, and knowing that they all paid a subscription, I'm guessing that the lector was relatively highly paid. I'm glad you liked the story — it's one unique to a small area of the country. I've read that the position of lector has survived in Cuba.Mark D. Ruffnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09241533547309049140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-148647148793397155.post-69535578568337388922012-06-24T12:51:44.130-04:002012-06-24T12:51:44.130-04:00Good afternoon, Gina. I think listening to the lec...Good afternoon, Gina. I think listening to the lector might have been a little like listening to National Public Radio. I suppose that the cigarmakers might have discussed what literature they wanted to hear, and perhaps they were polled. In any event, I get the impression that the lectors' novels were usually from a selection of the classics.Mark D. Ruffnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09241533547309049140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-148647148793397155.post-39253890178271422692012-06-24T12:44:53.888-04:002012-06-24T12:44:53.888-04:00Hello, Parnassus -
I haven't seen too many ci...Hello, Parnassus -<br /><br />I haven't seen too many cigar-making antiques in my travels because the men (and women) who rolled cigars didn't use a lot of equipment.<br /><br />The one purchase I made that was special in that regard was a collection of orange ribbons that were used to tie bundles of cigars. They were silk and had the names of different brands printed on them, in very old-fashioned type. I gifted them to an artist who made assembleges and shadow box art.Mark D. Ruffnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09241533547309049140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-148647148793397155.post-13327435894553586972012-06-24T12:35:07.036-04:002012-06-24T12:35:07.036-04:00Hi, Theresa - Working on a cigar label was a dream...Hi, Theresa - Working on a cigar label was a dream come true for me, but I learned a lot about cultural differences in the process. The job advanced at an incredibly slow pace, taking a full three years from quote to finish!Mark D. Ruffnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09241533547309049140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-148647148793397155.post-87103573913871584542012-06-24T11:21:09.201-04:002012-06-24T11:21:09.201-04:00Very interesting! I love learning about these old...Very interesting! I love learning about these old "trade neighborhoods." Thanks for the education, Mark. And, thanks for including the additional information on the lector. I especially enjoyed that part.<br />Cheers,<br />LoiWoodside Parkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13981644571968878448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-148647148793397155.post-67836180571446438072012-06-24T08:40:24.440-04:002012-06-24T08:40:24.440-04:00Good Morning Mark, Before I read your post I notic...Good Morning Mark, Before I read your post I noticed the Gentleman in the "higher position." I assumed that he was an overseer, making sure that every worker would work diligently. I like the idea of a Lector, a custom which could be welcome in our times.<br />Another great post Mark. Always bringing new and old to us.Ginahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03429484235583035595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-148647148793397155.post-81740717030762878562012-06-24T08:26:04.115-04:002012-06-24T08:26:04.115-04:00Hello Mark,
Such an interesting history of Yb...Hello Mark,<br /><br /> Such an interesting history of Ybor City. I never knew about the reader's function before. Do you see a lot of antique cigar-making equipment when roaming around Florida?<br /><br />Tobacco manufacturing is usually associated with the South, but I have been surprised how many cigar makers there were in the North. I have read of small makers in New York City, and even H. Allen Smith talked about his grandfather's cigar factory. <br />--Road to ParnassusParnassushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08958901307538141468noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-148647148793397155.post-41999162234842551532012-06-24T08:04:13.804-04:002012-06-24T08:04:13.804-04:00Brilliant post Mark! I love the way the mall used ...Brilliant post Mark! I love the way the mall used the cigar band in their design. Very interesting that you have designed them as well!Theresa Cheekhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11429069123185290732noreply@blogger.com