Record Display – OhioPix

item in cart

Cigar making in Lima, Ohio Save

Description: This is a photo of 2 men working somewhere in the Deisel-Wemmer-Gilbert cigar factory. The cigars can be seen completed in stacks, so it can be assumed that this is either the quality checking process or boxing process. The company was started by Harry Diesel in 1884. Diesel started out by calling his cigars "Harry's Best" and were hand-rolled out of his house. As popularity grew, Diesel could afford a shop on North Main Street and hired some workers to help him with his business in 1886. Two years later in 1888, his workers formed a union and went on strike for more money. Diesel gave in to the demands, but needed a partner to deal with the effects of the strike. He teamed up with brothers Henry and William Wemmer and changed the name of his cigar company to the Diesel-Wemmer Company. The company moved to several different locations as demand for the company's cigars grew and the need for a bigger space and more workers were needed. The Diesel-Wemmer company would eventually end up running 17 plants and employing 4,000 people, mostly women. The invention of the cigar-rolling machine put a dent in the amount of people needed to make cigars. One of these machines could produce 3,500 cigars a day and only needed 4 men to operate. The company continued to roll their cigars by hand for a while but, once the technology improved, moved to machine-rolled cigars. In 1925, cigar production declined and Diesel-Wemmer eventually merged with the Gilbert Cigar Company creating the Diesel-Wemmer-Gilbert Cigar Company (DWS) with Gilbert now controlling the company. Gilbert would control the company through the depression until 1939 when Norman Schwartz would take over as manager for Gilbert. After the war, DWS would buy out several other cigar manufacturers and become the 5th largest cigar producer in the United States making 56 million cigars a year. In 1990, after 106 years of operation, DWS would be out of business due to declining sales and the shrinking cigar market in the United States. A calendar can be seen on the wall, assuming it is correct, the photo was taken sometime in April of 1937. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B07F08_012_1
Subjects: Lima (Ohio)--History--Pictorial works; Tobacco industry; Cigar industry;
Places: Lima (Ohio); Allen County (Ohio)

1. Choose a product option

Personal use ($25) Academic/Non-Profit, all media ($50) Commercial, all media ($150)

Thank you for visiting OhioPix. Please note that orders for high-resolution files will be filled within 5-10 business days of placing your order. Thank you for your patience and understanding.

2. Read and Agree

Ohio History Connection Use Agreement and Conditions of Reproduction

One-Time Use. The right to reproduce materials held in the collections of the Ohio History Connection is granted on a one-time basis only, and only for private study, scholarship or research. Any further reproduction of this material is prohibited without the express written permission of the Ohio History Connection.
Use Agreement. Materials are reproduced for research use only and may not be used for publication, exhibition, or any other public purpose without the express written permission of the Ohio History Connection.
Credit. Any publication, exhibition, or other public use of material owned by the Ohio History Connection must credit the Ohio History Connection. The credit line should read “Courtesy of the Ohio History Connection” and should include the image or call number. The Ohio History Connection appreciates receiving a copy or tearsheet of any publication/presentation containing material from the organization’s collections.
Indemnification. In requesting permission to reproduce materials from the collections of the Ohio History Connection as described, the requestor agrees to hold harmless the OHC and its Trustees, Officers, employees and agents either jointly or severally from any action involving infringement of the rights of any person or their heirs and descendants in common law or under statutory copyright.
Reproduction of Copyrighted Material. Permission to reproduce materials in which reproduction rights are reserved must be granted by signed written permission of the persons holding those rights.
Copyright. The Ohio History Connection provides permission to use materials based on the organization’s ownership of the collection. Consideration of the requirements of copyrights is the responsibility of the author, producer, and publisher. Applicants assume all responsibility for questions of copyright and invasion of privacy that may arise in copying and using the materials available through Ohio Memory.
Warning concerning copyright restriction: The copyright law of the U. S. (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. Under certain conditions specified in the law, libraries and archives are authorized to a photocopy or reproduction. One of the specified conditions is that the photocopy or reproduction is not to be “used for any purpose other than private study, scholarship or research.” If a user make a request for, or later uses, a photocopy or reproduction for purposes in excess of “fair use,” that user may be liable for copyright infringement. This institution reserves the right to refuse to accept a copying order if, in its judgment, fulfillment of the order would involve violation of copyright law.
Photographs of Objects. The Ohio History Connection retains rights to photographs taken of artifacts owned by the Ohio History Connection. The images may be used for research, but any publication or public display is subject to the above conditions of reproduction. A new use agreement and appropriate fees must be submitted for each use

Quality Disclaimer: To maintain the authenticity and preservation of historic artifacts, the Ohio History Connection will not alter or endanger items in the collection for the purposes of reproduction or digitization. By completing this order form, the signee acknowledges that any and all requests will be completed with conservation in mind and that the images produced will reflect the physical condition of the item which may exhibit dirt, scratches, stains, tears, fading, etc.

Thank you for visiting OhioPix. Please note that orders for high-resolution files will be filled within 5-10 business days of placing your order.

By clicking I Agree, I consent to the terms, and acknowledge that I am entering into a legally binding agreement.