Cigar Box Lithographs Volume VII: Historical Women Enriching Cigar Box Labels

The objective of volume VII of the Cigar Box Lithographs series has been to acknowledge women with
assorted backgrounds who envisioned fostering cultural foundations in support of future generations all
eager to climb social ladders. To discover cigar boxes featuring such hailed women has certainly been a
huge challenge especially when considering that the great majority of such wooden containers were
carelessly tossed into fireplaces or cast off in dumps more than 100 years ago. Nonetheless, the author
of this production has been most fortunate to locate a gamut of cigar boxes identified with such a
worthy subject matter. The women featured on these cigar boxes, wooden containers assembled
between 1875 and 1920, not only enhanced such crafted packets during past times but were considered
legendary household names during their era. For sure, their edifying influence has assisted in making life
more satisfactory and extra rewarding.

Charles J. Humber, born, Montreal, Quebec, 1936. He graduated, B.A., 1962, from Temple University, Philadelphia. As an undergraduate, he also attended the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, 1960-61. He pursued graduate work at the University of Toronto, studying under the legendary H. Northrop Frye before attending the University of Wisconsin, Madison, graduating with his M.A.,1970. After twenty years as a high school teacher, Charlie ventured into the world of publishing. His first book, Loyal She Remains, sold 50,000 copies in 1984 and was chosen by the Ontario government as the official gift to both Her Majesty The Queen and His Holiness Pope John Paul II when both these dignitaries visited Ontario, the trillium province, in 1984. Charles J. Humber has edited or written sixteen books including the seven --volume CANADA Heirloom Series (1986-2000).Charles and Gayle Jenkins, his California-born wife, were married just shy of sixty years when Gay passed away in March, 2020. They became the proud parents of Kristan Laura, Karyn Anna, and twins Charles William and Scott Nicholas. In due course they became the grandparents of eight grandchildren. Charles and Gayle made Mississauga, a sub-name linked to the Ojibwa (see this volume pages 118-120), Ontario, their home base since 1962.