Rare box of ten of Winston Churchill's personal 'La Corona' cigars by Álvarez López y Cía of Havana, Cuba, 10″ x 8″ x 1.75″, with each cigar featuring a red band imprinted in white with the prime minister's name: "Winston Churchill." In very good condition, with flaking to the cigars, heavy wear to the box, and a tear to the "Álvarez López y Cía" paper insert inside.



Accompanied by a letter of provenance dated April 21, 1980, in full: "This is to certify that these cigars with the 'Winston Churchill' band remain from those given by Mr. Winston Churchill himself from time to time to my brother when he was attendant in an official capacity upon Mr. Churchill during the years 1940 to 1945."



Churchill was reportedly first supplied with Corona cigars with his name on the band in 1940, as a generous gesture of support by New York businessman Samuel Kaplan. The Cuban cigar became an integral component of Churchill's public image—he smoked as many as ten a day, and was rarely pictured without one.