Coin Machine Review (& Pacific ...)

The Gay Nineties will be remembered for a lot of things but I wonder
how many of you recall those daring, naughty pictures they used to pack
in cigarette packs?
Well, W. Parker Lyon, that demon collector of Thunder Mugs and
other Americana, does, and over in Arcadia at his Pony Express Museum
he has done his share towards preserving this historic phase of American
Art. The capital A is used advisedly.
It scarcely seems possible to us that just a few short years ago, less
than half a century, cigarettes were considered one of the important evils
that must be eradicated. Nice people did not u e them or even speak of
the things and in certain vulgar circles they were known as "pimp sticks".
The ladies of easy virtue affected them as did their "boy friends"; some
actresses were daring enough to smoke, hut, "you know how actresses
are, my dear" and the raised eyebrow and lorgnette went with that one.
Enterprising manufacturers of the despised cigarettes decided to
popularize the weed and turned to the age old lure of a pretty woman,
or in this case we should say, pretty women. So they began to inclose
pictures, daring pictures, if you please, in the packs of Sweet Caps.
That caused Anthony Comstock and the Purity League to blow a
gasket. It was bad enough that decent womanhood should be insulted
by having a feminine likeness packed with the filthy weed, but these
pictures! Why they were positively indecent! Girls in, would you
believe it, tights?
Nor was that all. Most of the cuties had what it takes and were
actually voluptuous damsels. The IT and OOMPH gals of their day. And
the costumes! They were positively revealing, to put it mildly. Why the
creatures actually showed their legs, er, beg pardon, limbs. Yeh, that's
what we called 'em in the Gay 90's. It was shocking, disgusting, that's
what it was and something had to be done about it, right away!
Something was. Cigarette sales boomed and the boys began collecting
the pictures in a big way. At first only the more obscure ladies of the
chorus and the "Burley Q" girls' photographs were obtainahle, but as
the demand grew the smart press agents (yes, you bet they had 'em in
those days), realized the importance of the publicity and such names
as Adelaide Neilson, Loie Fuller, Ada Richmond and Nellie De Sortis
began to appear with the pictures of the owners of said names on the
cards.
The examples reproduced herewith are from the issue by S. F. Hess
and Company, makers of "Sound" Long Cut and the gals appear to be
busting out with joy at having been selected for the honor even though
they are all in tight quarters.
Anyway the Cigarette Art of the Gay Nineties gives us an idea of
the kind of girls our dads fell for. The next time the Old Man ribs you
about that strip teaser just dig these out and watch him blush.
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by
JAY CHARLES