Mark Twain's Cigars

[architeuthis]

Early this morning I picked up a dusty old book I haven't seen in years off the shelf; it was a small volume of world-wide Obituaries for Mark Twain. This got me to thinking... Does anybody know what types of cigars Sam Clemens smoked? I know he kept some really nasty dog rockets for parties which were dreary and boring, but I doubt that a life-long cigar man smoked them exclusively at a time when Cuban cigars were readily available.

Thanks.

[Professor Twain]

Here's what the man himself said:

"I know a good cigar better than you do, for I have had sixty years' experience. No, that is not what I mean; I mean I know a bad cigar better than anybody else. I judge by the price only; if it costs above 5 cents, I know it to be either foreign or half foreign and unsmokable.

"By me I have many boxes of Havana cigars, of all prices, from 20 cents apiece up to $1.66 apiece; I bought none of them; they were all presents; they are an accumulation of several years. I have never smoked one of them, and never shall. I work them off on the visitor. You shall have a chance when you come.
- letter to L. M. Powers, November 9, 1905; quoted in The New York Times, March 26, 1911

[architeuthis]

Many thanks. It would have taken me a while to find that; although it still doesn't say what he liked exactly.

[kirscovitch]

so the guy liked dog rockets??? or was just hung up on the "buy american" slogan??

[oneaday]

Damn, I wonder how much $1.66 in 1905 would be worth today? For sure one of you computer Whiz's know where find out. I'm bettin it would be the price of a couple of Dunnies today.

[sarnone]

How much that dollar was worth that Washington threw across the delaware. BTW, do you know HOW he was able to throw a dollar across the Delaware? Well, in those days, a dollar went a lot farther.:lookaroun

Have a good day gang!

Sam

[cvm4]

I found this:

$38.01 using the Consumer Price Index
$29.80 using the GDP deflator
$166.21 using the unskilled wage
$202.81 using the nominal GDP per capita
$716.20 using the relative share of GDP

[MithShrike]

From what I understand, he smoked cheroots...

[jmatkins]

Everyone has diffrent tastes.

[Wasch_24]

Smoke what you like.

[tobby4]

and like what you smoke...

[tedski]

I know he also smoked corncob pipes as he used to by them by the gross (144).

[Rank_Tyro]

This is a helpful little tool....inflation calculator.

http://www.westegg.com/inflation/

Evidently $1.66 was about $35 bucks.

[Professor Twain]

Many thanks. It would have taken me a while to find that; although it still doesn't say what he liked exactly.


Here's a site that is full of Twain quotations on every topic under the sun:

http://www.twainquotes.com/index.html

Look under quotations and you can find hundreds of great quotes.

[caudio51]

Lot of cool info in this thread. He certainly seemed to smoke some good sticks