For your consideration is this vintage Congress La Palina glass cigar store humidor from the 1920-30s. Samuel Paley immigrated to Chicago and began what would be a long and profitable career in the cigar business. At the time, there were some 50,000 cigar manufacturers in America and Paley became a “lector” at one of them. Rolling cigars is a tedious, repetitive, and long task. It took place in a gallery with anywhere between 10 and 100 rollers, depending on the size of the company. To relieve the boredom, there was a lector in the front of the gallery that read to the rollers from books or newspapers. This was the position in which Samuel Paley began his career in the cigar industry. Eventually Paley moved on to become a roller, and then graduated into the role of blender. Paley had a nose (or a palate) for tobacco and he honed and developed his technique and his knowledge. Like so many immigrants, he yearned to have his own business and be his own boss. Paley opened a cigar shop with a small factory and in 1896, he introduced La Palina. This 16 sided glass humidor features the brand name front and center reading, "La Palina, The Quality Cigar, Since 1896". The bottom reads, "Congress Cigar Co. 1st Dist. Penna Fact C 513". The jar is in good condition for its age with no cracks, chips or signs of damage. The jar measures a diameter of 5 5/8" and 7" tall.