W.A. Brennan’s 1915 Tobacco Leaves “is intended for the man who uses tobacco. While there is very extensive literature concerning tobacco, yet it is surprising how few books there are written expressly for the smoker.”1 Brennan gathered facts and information together from various sources and put them together into this volume because “the man who uses tobacco daily should know what he is doing.”2
One interesting thing about this book is that it contains references for all of the information it provides. References are listed at the end of each section. For someone who wants to learn more, check facts, or read further, these references are quite valuable.
Brennan’s book explores the history and botany of tobacco, its cultivation, curing, fermentation, qualities of cigars, pipes, and snuff, and medical information about tobacco use. He also reviews the chemical composition of tobacco, nicotine, and ash.
Tobacco Leaves includes information about the leading varieties of tobacco in America at the time of the writing, which were: Burley, Connecticut Seedleaf, Connecticut Broadleaf, Orinoco, Virginian, Pryor, Little Dutch, Sumatra Seed, Cuban Seed, and Perique.
Of cigars in 1915, Brennan writes, “Of the various manufactured products of tobacco leaf, the cigar trade is the most important in the U.S., its value being greater than that of all other tobacco products combined.”3 There were approximately 8.5 billion cigars made in the United States per year at about 26,000 cigar factories that employed 135,000 people. That’s a dramatic change in the last 100 years!
Machines had made major inroads by the time Brennan was writing. He writes, “Smoking is a sentimental occupation and lends itself easily to romantic associations. A good deal of romance and sentiment still hangs around the hand-made cigar and cigarette. In an up-to-date cigar factory, however, the whir or machinery and the precise, regular movements of automatic contrivances give little scope for sentiment.”4
Another interesting section tells readers about the types of cigars, ranked by quality:
- Imported cigars (Cuban cigars)
- Puerto Rican cigars
- Philippine cigars
- Clear Havanas: use Cuban tobacco, but are hand-made in the USA
- Seed and Havana: uses imported Cuban tobacco for the filler, but domestic tobacco for the wrapper
- Domestic cigars: uses domestic tobacco
- Nickel goods: use domestic tobacco, may be machine made or may be factory seconds
- Stogies/Tobies/Cheroots: open at both ends, made by machine, “rough quality”
Brennan’s chapter on ‘Effects of Tobacco Smoking on the Human System’ attempts to give a balanced understanding of the benefits and drawbacks of tobacco use.
He also gives recipes for “flavoring fluids” that some manufacturers used in their cigars.
Tobacco Leaves: Being a Book of Facts for Smokers is in the public domain and can be read for free on Project Gutenberg.