Cremo Cigars was founded well over a century ago (1896) by George Washington Hill when he decided to produce an American-made 5¢ cigar in New York City. Headquartered in Manhattan, the establishment of Cremo came 2 years shy of New York’s consolidation in 1898, when Manhattan would become the center of a 5-borough megapolis. Since its conception, Mr. Hill sought to place Cremo well above other brands by being one of the very few first producers to use advanced cigar rolling machines. It soon became common knowledge that Cremo featured superior fine quality tobacco from the Caribbean islands. Again, another key differentiation benefit.

George Washington Hill was convinced that his cigars were the best in the market. He sought to further expand their popularity among Americans and achieved by implementing brilliant marketing strategies in the early 1900’s. His most remarkable idea was to commission wall and façade mural painting —trailblazer?— to advertise the Cremo brand nationwide. The advertising effort was so successful that some of these original murals can still be seen across the country to this very day.