Cigar Cutter Exhibition Coming To Miami
They’re shaped like handguns, Champagne bottles and big game animals. Others depict yacht club affiliations, sporting gear and women in suggestive poses. Starting this week, a large collection of cigar cutters from the late 19th and early 20th century will be on display at The Wolfsonian-FIU museum in Miami Beach as part of a new exhibition called “Smoke Signals: Cigar Cutters and Masculine Values.” The installation, which runs April 25 through September 29, gives insight into the passions, pursuits and sometimes controversial attitudes of cigar smokers during the era.
“Cigar cutters were really manifestations of masculine identity in the late 19th and early 20th century,” says museum curator Lea Nickless. “They came to prominence around 1860, coinciding with the rising popularity of cigar smoking. Before that, people used pocket knives to cut their cigars.”
The cutters on display at The Wolfsonian range from simple knife and scissor-style cigar tools to elaborate decorative and figural devices. Some are larger table-top models, others are pocket sized, and some are even made of gold. Nickless says it wasn’t uncommon for men of the time to own multiple cigar cutters. “A gentleman might have two or three cigar cutters. One for his pocket that he carried around with him, another for the office, another for home.”
More than 140 vintage cigar cutters will be showcased, selected from a donation of 361 cigar cutters from Miami collector Richard Kronenberg. The vintage pieces were created by jewelers and craftsmen in cities like London, New York, Berlin and Vienna.
Much like today, where you will find branded cigar accessories, Nickless says a number of the cutters were promotional pieces, “given away by cigar companies and other businesses as a form of advertising. Cigar smoking was such a popular outlet at the time that cigar cutters were seen as great gifts.”
Some of the designs might raise eyebrows today. “These cigar cutters were personal expressions, a reflection of their owner’s values, aspirations and tastes at that moment,” she says. “Some are disrespectful to women. Others depict hobbies and leisurely pursuits like hunting or going to the races, sports and alcohol-related imagery. Many highlight certain status elements related to affluence, like yacht club membership.”
A selection of the cutters have been placed in a mid-century Beauty Bar display cabinet, which in its original commercial context would have been used to showcase cosmetics, perfumes and other feminine products. The juxtaposition, according to Nickless, is designed to promote discussion about status and identity.
“The placement of the cutters in the Beauty Bar presents an interesting dichotomy of masculine identity and feminine identity. One of the goals of the installation is to make people ask questions about status and identity during the time period, and think about what it means today. The mission of The Wolfsonian has always been to provoke thought. Provoking thought, raising people’s curiosity. That’s what the exhibition is all about.”
The Wolfsonian museum is open Wednesday through Sunday, 10am to 6pm. On Friday, the museum remains open till 9pm. Price of admission is $12 for an adult. The ticket price is waived for Wolfsonian members, Florida residents, Students of the State University System of Florida and other groups.
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