five cent cheroot

Late last month after Christmas, Brook and I took a brief trip to see relatives in Columbia, SC. While there we were asked to bring back a few items. One of these items was an old trunk that was my grandmother Jennie Wait Foster Finlayson. It was a trunk filled with various items, items that Brook and I didn't have time to rummage through while there. I was asked if I wanted the trunk and I accepted. I like old trunks.

There were a few items of interest, but most of it was junk. I found some cool old tools - one being a manual drill. You may have seen one - it works kind of like an old fashioned egg beater - only with a drill bit at the end. Then again, you might not know what an old fashioned egg beater looks like. I also found an old woodworking plane.

Yesterday I brought a small tin cigar box inside to clean up. I figured I could keep things in it. The cigar box isn't in great shape and the original printed tin was painted over by a relative a long time ago. It also has some rust The image below was found online and not the cigar tin next to me. The box I have did have some hard to read text on the inside - but I was able to do a little Googling to discover what the box looked like in it's former day. The text on the inside reads PERFECTO and a slogan "It's Ripe Tobacco.!" The bottom of the tin isn't rusted and I can clearly read BAYUK PHILLIES.

I learned through this little box that my grandfather Burruss Finlayson smoked Bayuk Philladelphia Hand Made Cigars. I knew my grandfather smoked cigars but interesting to discover a favored brand. The Phillies Perfecto cigar was introduced in 1910 and became one of history's biggest selling cigar. The public shortened the name of the Philladelphia Cigar to "PHILLIES" which can still be purchased today. I think I'll have to pay more than five cents for one. The tin shown above doesn't read PHILLIES so it's apparent that it's an older box than the one I have.