Резные фигуры коренных американцев для табачных лавок: история и эволюция.

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The cigar store Indian or wooden Indian is an advertisement figure, in the likeness of a Native American, used to represent tobacconists. The figures are often three dimensional wooden sculptures measuring from several feet tall up to life sized. They are still occasionally used for their original advertising purpose, but are more often seen as decorations or advertising collectibles, with some pieces selling for hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Because of the general illiteracy of the populace, early store owners used descriptive emblems or figures to advertise their shops' wares; for example, barber poles advertise barber shops, show globes advertised apothecaries and the three gold balls represent pawn shops. American Indians and tobacco had always been associated because American Indians introduced tobacco to Europeans. A Highlander figure indicated the sale of Scottish snuff, and a Blackamoor figure that tobacco from the Caribbean was available. Because European carvers had never seen a Native American, these early cigar store "Indians" looked more like Africans with feathered headdresses and other fanciful, exotic features. These carvings were called "Black Boys" or "Virginians" in the trade. Eventually, the European cigar store figure began to take on a more "authentic" yet highly stylized native visage, and by the time the smoke shop figure arrived in the Americas in the late 18th century, it had become thoroughly "Indian." It appears that the first man to introduce carved figures as tobacconists' signs was a certain Chichester. They were carved by one Tom Millard. This was about forty years ago. John Cromwell, Nick Collins, Thomas V. Brooks, and Thomas White are also prominent figures in the early history of the art Most of the men in the business originally carved figureheads for ships. But with the decay of American shipping they lost their occupation [S. A.] Robb himself brought a good artistic training to the workshop, for he studied at the Academy of Design for a number of years. The Times further notes that as the market became saturated with Indians, popular taste expanded to figures of Scotchmen, English officers with bearskins, Dolly Vardens, John L. Sullivan, Edwin Forrest in Roman garb, Turks, sultanas, Punch, and plantation Blacks. The price of a small Indian was then $16, and full custom figures might cost $125. Most figures, however, were simply copied from existing ones. The Times article describes traditional fabrication techniques as follows. The wood was typically white pine, bought as logs at spar yards. The artist first blocked out a very rough outline by axe, guided by paper patterns. A hole was then bored into each end of the log, about 5 inches in depth, and a bolt placed into each. The log was then suspended from these bolts on supports so it could freely turn. The sculptor then used chisels, followed by finer carving tools, to create the finished figure. Arms and hands were created separately, then screwed into the body. The last steps were to paint it, and set it up upon a stand.

The cigar store Indian became less common in the 20th century for a variety of reasons.

Hank Williams recorded a song called "Kaw Liga", about a cigar store Indian that falls in love with a carved Indian maiden.

Peter Parker had a cigar store Indian gifted to him when he lived at his apartment at 410 Chelsea Street on 12th Street, right off Eighth Avenue, in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan. The statue was eventually destroyed in a fire.