Cigar Harvest Festival, Hartford
PhotographerPhotographed by
John Vignoli
Date1951
MediumPhotography; gelatin silver on paper
DimensionsSheet (height x width): 8 x 10in. (20.3 x 25.4cm)
ClassificationsGraphics
Object number2015.117.1.1-.35
Description35 photographs of the 1951 Cigar Harvest Festival parade held in downtown Hartford, Connecticut. Many of the photographs depict the floats, while others show marching bands. Spectators are visible in the background.
Floats represent the following interests: S&M (Sunderland & Montague) Cigar Store; Somers/Ellington, Connecticut; Phillies; the insurance comapnies of Hartford; the Crusade for Freedom, featuring Miss Freedom Belle; White Owl; Southwick, Massachusetts; Miss Hartford Chief; the Fuller Brush Company; Suffield, Connecticut; a marimba band headed by Florence Schaefer; Consolidated Cigar Corporation; Granby American Legion Post 182; South Windsor, Connecticut; the Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barber Shop Quartet Singing in America; Enfield, Connecticut; Connecticut Light & Power Company, the Hartford Electric Light Company, Western Massachusetts Electric Companies, and the Connecticut Power Company; Coca-Cola; the Nicoll Talcott Corporation; Windsor, Connecticut; The Hartford Times; Hatfield, Massachusetts; Windsor Locks, Connecticut; Simsbury, Connecticut; the George B. Fisher Company; New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad Company's Cigar Valley Express; Wallingford, Connecticut, featuring Miss Wallingford; and Hadley Special.
The "tobacco valley" is referenced frequently. Many of the floats carry young women in evening gowns.
NotesSubject Note: The Cigar Valley Harvest Festival was a celebration of the "tobacco valley" in Connecticut and Massachusetts that was held in Hartford in 1951 and 1952. It consisted of an evening parade (depicted in these photographs), the naming of a Cigar Valley Queen, and a coronation ball. In 1951, the parade depicted in these photographs was held on September 11, and started at Colt Park, continued on Main Street, and ended at Bushnell Park. The queen that year was Shirley Ann Sullivan.Floats represent the following interests: S&M (Sunderland & Montague) Cigar Store; Somers/Ellington, Connecticut; Phillies; the insurance comapnies of Hartford; the Crusade for Freedom, featuring Miss Freedom Belle; White Owl; Southwick, Massachusetts; Miss Hartford Chief; the Fuller Brush Company; Suffield, Connecticut; a marimba band headed by Florence Schaefer; Consolidated Cigar Corporation; Granby American Legion Post 182; South Windsor, Connecticut; the Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barber Shop Quartet Singing in America; Enfield, Connecticut; Connecticut Light & Power Company, the Hartford Electric Light Company, Western Massachusetts Electric Companies, and the Connecticut Power Company; Coca-Cola; the Nicoll Talcott Corporation; Windsor, Connecticut; The Hartford Times; Hatfield, Massachusetts; Windsor Locks, Connecticut; Simsbury, Connecticut; the George B. Fisher Company; New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad Company's Cigar Valley Express; Wallingford, Connecticut, featuring Miss Wallingford; and Hadley Special.
The "tobacco valley" is referenced frequently. Many of the floats carry young women in evening gowns.
In 1952, the festival was expanded from three days to six, running from September 9-14. Entertainment stars Elizabeth Threatt, Mel Allen, Jimmy Dorsey, Marguerite Piazza, Jane Pickens, Ed Sullivan, Yul Brynner, Ted Husing, Paul LaValle, and Lee Bowman made appearances and filled various roles during the festival.
Status
Not on view
