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The Museum
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Sir Winston Churchill
(1874-1965)
The young Winston Churchill, recently elected Member of Parliament for Oldham, opened his account with Robert Lewis on 9 August 1900. Unusually, the already well-known war correspondent was introduced not by his father, but his mother, Lady Randolph Churchill.
The former Jenny Jerome, a famous American beauty, had a taste for the St James's Street firm's hand-made, gold-tipped Alexandra Balkan cigarettes (not longer available, alas).
Some biographers estimate that Churchill smoked between 3,000 and 4,000 cigars a year. His favourite was a seven inch by 47 ring gauge Romeo Y Julieta, immortalised by the Havana cigar company who named it after the British statesman.
In 1943, the Cuban manufacturers combined to send him a parcel of 5,000 cigars, a gift repeated annually until long after World War II. Former Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill placed his final order with Robert Lewis on 23 December 1964. His account was settled and closed after his death a few weeks later.
Box of Sir Winston Churchill's Romeo y Julieta from the 1950s. The enormous number of cigars smoked by Churchill didn't seem to affect his health - he lived to a ripe old age.
Letter to Robert Lewis from Winston Churchill.
Original box of 50 Churchill Don Joaquin cigars that Sir Winston returned to Robert Lewis because he thought they were 'too green.' American aficionados like green cigars but their British counterparts don't, although the colour is cosmetic and doesn't affect taste. Sir Winston passed them on to Lord Soames and swapped them for something else. The actual box is the same size as a standard humidor, no longer produced.
JJ Fox & Robert Lewis, 19 St James's Street,
London, SW1A 1ES
Tel:+44 (0)20 7930 3787 Fax:+44 (0)20 7495 0097
