Gert Schrijvers, a violin maker from Hasselt and lover of cigars, has bought a cigar once smoked by the former British prime minister Sir Winston Churchill. The Limburger snapped up the artefact at a British auction the daily Het Belang van Limburg reports. ”This is something unique. The figure of Winston Churchill has always inspired me. When I secured the purchase, I couldn't believe it at first," Gert told VRT.
Limburger pays hefty sum for Winston Churchill's cigar with his tooth mark still on it
Colin Clapson
Published:
250,000, that is the number of cigars Sir Winston Churchill is said to have smoked during his 90-year life. The famous Briton, prime minister during World War II, lit up between eight and 10 cigars a day. Or nearly 4,000 cigars a year. One of these cigars is now owned by Hasselt cigar enthusiast Gert Schrijvers.
"He was a wise man who always had a lot to say. His figure has always inspired me. He is bigger than history. Besides, I am a cigar lover myself," Schrijvers explains. "Like Churchill, I am especially a fan of Cuban cigars. In the 1970s and 1980s, several cigar series were named after him. To this day, these are among the best and most expensive series."
Ben Hur
Gert has no concerns about the authenticity of the cigar. "It was auctioned by a well-known auction house. I am at home in that world because of my job as a violin maker. Furthermore, there is a certificate of authenticity signed by the man who was allowed to take the cigar from Churchill's house at the time."
How did the cigar end up with Schrijvers?
Churchill is said to have lit the cigar in his home cinema while watching the film Ben Hur with staff and bodyguards. Since he did not smoke his cigars completely, one of the bodyguards asked if he could take what remained with him. For years he kept them in a glass jar, along with a Christmas card he received from Sir Winston. Every staff member received one such Christmas card, accompanied by a painting of Churchill's house, painted by the man himself.
V for Victory
To his great surprise, Gert was given the Christmas card and the artwork. It only added to the experience. "I was on holiday and had to bid via the phone. When you hear that hammer going down in the background, you can't believe it. How much I paid for it, I'm not going to say, but it involved quite a bit of money. Churchill's teeth marks are still in the cigar. He was the man who constantly walked around with a cigar in his mouth. Of course, after a while you start nibbling on it to keep it in your mouth."
Gert will now store the cigar in a humidor, a box equipped with a humidity system. "This way I can store it under the right conditions and humidity levels. After all, cigars are tobacco. If it dries out, it pulverises. It would be a great shame to be left with nothing but powder in a few years' time."