SEALED 1954 Muriel Queens Cigar Tin (25 Count) - Pre-Embargo Cuban Blend w/ Opening Key

There was a time when ten cents could buy a gentleman a remarkably fine cigar, and few names captured the spirit of everyday American smoking quite like Muriel.

Offered here is a beautiful original 1954 can of Muriel Queens, containing 25 cigars manufactured by the venerable P. Lorillard Company. The can remains completely factory sealed, with the metal opening strip completely intact and never removed. While the original winding key is missing from the top, a separate vintage-style opening key will be included with this lot so that the next owner may peel back the lid and enjoy this time capsule firsthand.

Muriel was an old and familiar sweetheart of the American smoker. Long before her name became famous on television, the mysterious dark-haired beauty adorning the label had been charming gentlemen from coast to coast. Her appeal was more than a pretty face. Muriel offered something rather special for a ten-cent cigar: a carefully balanced blend incorporating genuine Havana tobacco from Cuba, softened by lighter domestic leaf to produce what Lorillard proudly advertised as a milder, mellower smoke.

And what a splendid time to have enjoyed one! Nineteen fifty-four was an America of neighborhood tobacconists, polished mahogany counters, gleaming chrome automobiles, and warm evenings spent beside the radio or the flickering glow of a television set. A gentleman might stop at the corner drugstore on his way home, pick up a few Queens, and enjoy a little taste of Havana without spending a small fortune.

The character of those old Muriels was intended to strike a happy medium between the richness of Cuban tobacco and the gentler disposition of American leaf. One can imagine a pleasantly mellow smoke, offering soft woody and toasted tobacco flavors, a delicate natural sweetness, and perhaps a touch of the earthy, fragrant spice for which Havana tobacco was so celebrated.

Most importantly, this can belongs to a vanished chapter of cigar history. Its cigars were manufactured before the Cuban Revolution, before the American embargo, and before the Muriel brand passed from Lorillard to Consolidated Cigar Corporation in 1956.
The original vacuum-packed container, its charming period artwork, the ten-cent price, and the surviving federal revenue stamp tell the story of a different age. And remarkably, more than seventy years later, the contents remain sealed away, just as they left the factory.
Twenty-five little pieces of nineteen fifty-four, still waiting beneath their original lid.

A wonderful survivor from the golden years of American cigar smoking, and a genuine reminder of the days when even an everyday ten-cent smoke could carry a little romance of old Havana.

Here is a fun little promo video I made on Pipe Appeal. I hope you enjoy it:

Listing Details: https://youtu.be/oqQadzZRM7o

Happy Bidding, and Swell Smokes!

• Brand: Muriel Queens
• Manufacturer: P. Lorillard Company
• Production Year: 1954 (Pre-Embargo / Pre-Revolution)
• Quantity: 25 Cigars
• Packaging: Original vacuum-sealed metal tin (10¢ price marked)
• Condition: Factory sealed; metal tear-strip fully intact; original revenue stamp present
• Inclusions: Includes a separate, functional opening key compatible with the tin's tear-strip