Having had the privilege of working for Benedikt Taschen for years, I’ve been around the block, around the galaxy even, of artistic coffee table books. Without exaggeration, CIGARS: a biography is one of the most efficiently educational, entertaining, and beautiful editions on the topic. It’s certainly the most uniquely composed. Aaron Sigmond, the cigar world’s auteur, pens the book partly as a travelogue, rife with characters and exotic settings. Sure, it’s a detail-heavy history, but the narration and engagement factor launch you into another world, Neverending Story style. Instead of Fantasia though, you’re trekking across the globe through tobacco farms, cigar factories, and luxuriating in stogie lounges.
Frankly, most coffee table books aren’t meant for reading, and the ones that are make my high school calculus textbook feel like a page-turner in comparison. CIGARS. A biography trounces my attention span, which is infamously similar to that of a 12-year-old boy. Did you know that people used to store cigars in pig bladders? (And here vegans thought the cigar glue was a problem.) I also had no idea that the spicy Corojo wrapper was named after a plantation in Cuba—more specifically, the Santa Ines del Corojo Vega farm owned by the cigar scions, the Rodriguezes. I’ll definitely drop these nuggets next time I’m puffing away with the boys at Club Macanudo.
Aficionados, new enthusiasts, and guys who enjoy gentlemen’s culture in general will enjoy this book. It does triple duty: it’s an informative tome for your library, a luxurious volume for your coffee table, and a design object that you can put anywhere that needs a swanky visual accent. I love how the slipcover mimics a cigar case over the handcrafted, leather-like binding. And with more than 225 images throughout, the inside is as stunning as the outside. After all, Ian Spanier, the artist behind the lens, often accompanied Sigmond on his international cigar travels. This first edition of CIGARS. a biography is limited to 2,500 copies.
