Winston oversees the sale of his favourite cigars at Mallams

Lot 42 - John Archibald Alexander Berrie (1887-1962) A portrait of Sir Winston Churchill, oil on canvas 76cm x 63.5cm

Sold for £15,000

It is rare to see a photograph of Winston Churchill without a cigar, but for formal portraits they were more often absent, although the likelihood is he would have made sure there was one close by!

Churchill’s love of cigars and particularly Cuban cigars began in 1895 when he was in Havana. Later he is said to have remarked that he and a fellow officer had spent many days surviving on solely on oranges and cigars!  From this point on, his love of Cuban cigars remained constant and at Chartwell, his family home in Kent, he reputedly kept cigar stock levels at around 3,000 to 4,000 in a room adjacent to his home study.

It appears the allure of the Cuban cigar lives on as six lots of various boxed cigars attracted considerable interest at Mallams Oxford Library Sale.  All lots exceeded their original top estimates with one particular lot achieving £6,200 plus buyer’s premium.

Winston oversaw the sale from the saleroom foyer in the form of a large oil painting by John Archibald Alexander Berrie.  Another success, the painting sold for £15,000 on the hammer considerably exceeding it’s £3,000 to £5,000 estimate.