Anna Held cigars were a brand of cigars made by the American Cigar Company. Their brief history started in 1890. They were named after the French-American actress, Anna Held. She was a popular vaudeville and Broadway star.
Brand Appeal

These cigars were also known for quality and their attractive packaging, which often featured images of Anna Held herself.
Anna was known for her flamboyant fashion sense, and she was often seen smoking cigars. Held’s popularity made her a natural choice to be the face of a cigar brand. The cigars were marketed as being “as beautiful and as charming as Anna Held herself.” They were also marketed as being “for the man who wants to be like Anna Held: successful, sophisticated, and in control.” The brand was popular with both men and women, and people flocked to their local drugstores to buy them.
Anna
Anna Held was compensated for the use of her name in a variety of ways. She received a royalty on every cigar sold, and she also received a lump sum payment upfront. She also had creative control over the advertising campaign, and she was able to approve or reject any marketing materials before they were released.
Held was a shrewd businesswoman, and she made sure to get the best possible deal for herself. Anna was also aware of the power of her name, and she used it to her advantage. Her association with the Anna Held cigar brand helped to make her even more famous. It also helped to ensure that her name would be remembered for generations to come.
Anna died prematurely in 1918 at the age of 46. The marketability of her name died with her. Anna Held cigars were discontinued in the early 1920s. However, they remain a popular collectible among cigar enthusiasts. Vintage Anna Held cigar boxes and labels are often sold at auction for high prices.
Timeline
Here is a more detailed history of Anna Held cigars:
1890: The American Tobacco Company introduces Anna Held cigars.
1890s: Anna Held cigars become a popular choice among cigar smokers.
1900: Anna Held marries Florenz Ziegfeld, the producer of the Ziegfeld Follies.
1910s: Anna Held cigars continue to be popular, but they face increasing competition from other brands.
1920s: Anna Held cigars are discontinued.
1930s-present: Vintage Anna Held cigar boxes and labels are sold at auction for high prices.
Anna Held cigars were made in the United States. The tobacco used to make the cigars was grown in Cuba, Dominican Republic, and Brazil. The cigars were rolled by hand in factories in New York City and Connecticut.
Trust Busting
The American Cigar Company was part of American Tobacco Company. It was a major tobacco company in the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The company was founded in 1864 by James Buchanan Duke. It had a monopoly on the tobacco industry in the United States for much of its early history. The company was eventually broken up by the government in 1911.
The breakup of the American Tobacco Company was the result of a lawsuit filed by the United States Department of Justice in 1908. The lawsuit alleged that the company had violated the Sherman Antitrust Act by engaging in anti-competitive practices, such as price-fixing and market allocation. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the government in 1911, and ordered the company to be broken up into several smaller companies. Here are some of them:
Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corporation
Liggett & Myers Tobacco Company
Lorillard Tobacco Company
R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company
These companies went on to become some of the largest and most successful tobacco companies in the world.
The attempt to break up the American Tobacco Company was part of Theodore Roosevelt’s trust busting efforts while president. Roosevelt believed that large monopolies were a threat to the American economy and to democracy itself. He used the Sherman Antitrust Act to break up several large monopolies, including the American Tobacco Company, the Northern Securities Company, and the Standard Oil Company.
Roosevelt’s trust busting efforts were controversial at the time, but they are now widely seen as a success. They helped to create a more competitive economy and to protect consumers from the negative effects of monopolies.
- Year Started: 1890
- Year Ended: 1920
- Origin Of Name: Celebrity Name / Descriptive
- Location Sales: Worldwide
- Brand Name Predecessor: N/A
- Brand Name Successor: N/A
- Owner Original: American Tobacco Company
- Owner While In Use: American Tobacco Company
- Owner Successor: N/A
- Year Resurrected: N/A
- What’s Popular Today: Oliva Serie V Melanio
- Naics Code: 312230
- Location Headquarters: New York, New York USA
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