Counter Top Cigar Store Figure

Copied Samuel Anderson Robb, Counter Top Cigar Store Figure, ca. 1880, carved and painted wood, 19 1210 1411 in. (49.526.027.9 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr. and museum purchase made possible by Ralph Cross Johnson, 1986.65.263
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Artwork Details

Title
Counter Top Cigar Store Figure
Artist
Attributed to Samuel Anderson Robb
Date
ca. 1880
Dimensions
19 1210 1411 in. (49.526.027.9 cm.)
Credit Line
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

Artwork Description

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.