The decline of the shipbuilding industry in the nineteenth century led many shipcarvers to turn to making shop figures. The most popular of these were cigar store Indians, which stood outside tobacco shops. The symbol of a Native American commonly appeared to advertise tobacco, which was discovered in the New World. The popularity of the figures declined by the end of the nineteenth century, however, with the introduction of electrical store signs and anti-sidewalk-obstruction laws.
- Title
-
Counter Top Cigar Store Figure
- Artist
- Attributed to Samuel Anderson Robb
- Date
- ca. 1880
- Location
- Dimensions
- 19 1⁄2 x 10 1⁄4 x 11 in. (49.5 x 26.0 x 27.9 cm.)
- Credit Line
-
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Gift of Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr. and museum purchase made possible by Ralph Cross Johnson
- Mediums
- Mediums Description
- carved and painted wood
- Classifications
- Keywords
-
- Dress – accessory – hat
- Figure male – bust
- Object Number
-
1986.65.263
- Palette
- Linked Open Data
- Linked Open Data URI
