Cigar Box Label, Professor Morse, Telegraph Inventor, Dual Portrait, Embossed & Gilded Chromolithograph, NOS, Made in USA, Vintage, 1925-1930

There are very few objects that connect you directly to a specific moment in history. This is one of them.

This original Professor Morse cigar box label was produced between 1925 and 1930 by the Consolidated Lithographing Corporation of Brooklyn, New York — for the Cuban Cigar Company of Cleveland, Ohio. It features two portraits of the man himself: a younger Professor Morse and Morse in his later years, side by side — a rare biographical touch that makes this label unlike almost any other in the cigar box label canon.

The craftsmanship is exceptional. Heavily embossed and gilded, printed in full color using the chromolithographic process that made Consolidated one of the largest and most respected paper label printers in early 20th century America. The colors remain vivid after nearly a century. The paper shows very slight yellowing on the reverse — consistent with age, and barely noticeable from the front.

Frame it for a study, a home office, a technology enthusiast's workspace, or alongside other American inventor and history memorabilia. At 9.0 by 6.75 inches it fits a standard 9x7 or 10x8 frame beautifully. Original, unused, New Old Stock — a rare find in this condition.

A wonderful gift for a history enthusiast, a communications or technology collector, a telegraphy buff, a cigar aficionado, or anyone who appreciates the extraordinary intersection of American invention and commercial art.

Samuel Finley Breese Morse (1791–1872) was an American painter and inventor who changed the world twice — first as one of the most celebrated portrait painters of his era, and then as the co-inventor of the single-wire telegraph system and the co-developer of Morse Code. His first successful telegraph message — What hath God wrought — was transmitted on May 24, 1844, over a line from Washington, D.C. to Baltimore. The telegraph effectively shrank the continent overnight, enabling near-instantaneous communication across vast distances for the first time in human history. Morse Code, the system of dots and dashes he developed with Alfred Vail, remained the global standard for long-distance communication for over a century and is still used today.

Consolidated Lithographing Corporation was founded in Brooklyn, New York in 1925 by Jacob A. Voice, a Romanian immigrant who had worked his way up through the lithography trade before organizing his own firm. Consolidated grew from a merger of Wm. Steiner & Sons and Mr. Voice's earlier company, becoming one of the largest printers of paper labels in America in the early 20th century.

• Subject: Professor Samuel F.B. Morse, inventor of the telegraph and Morse Code
• Printer: Consolidated Lithographing Corporation, Brooklyn, New York
• Issued by: Cuban Cigar Company, Cleveland, Ohio
• Type: Cigar box inner label
• Made in: New York, USA
• Dated: 1925–1930
• Dimensions: 9.0" long | 6.75" tall
• Material: Paper, chromolithograph, embossed and gilded
• Condition: New Old Stock (NOS) — unused, mint condition. Very slight yellowing on reverse consistent with age. Face vivid and pristine. Please review all photos carefully — we cannot accept returns.
• Framing: Fits a standard 9x7 or 10x8 frame — ready to display