The artwork on the Cuban cigar labels was so detailed and so colorful, experts like Dr. Glenn Westfall have been studying them for decades.

The secret was Bavarian limestone, and the complex process of lithography.

"It was, many times, the cigar label which actually sold the cigar, because the main thing about the label was to catch the eye of the public," explained Cuban expert Dr. Glenn Westfall. "The point that impresses people so much is the fact that the colors are so vivid and brilliant."

"The very first step in lithographic art is for the artist to do a printing of the image that will be reproduced. The artist will then make a line drawing, an outline of that sketch on a lithographic stone," Dr. Westfall said.

"Then, acid is poured on the stone so that the sketch area is slightly elevated. Stone is eaten away and only sketched areas are elevated. You will roll ink on the sketched areas with the idea that oil and water don't mix. So then you put paper on the stone. The ink comes off, it's the reverse image, and you have the first color of a label."

The paper would then be run over 12 German printing stones, each one with its own separate color.

"Imagine a lithographer who would use 12 stones as his canvas, and having the mental image to know how those colors would blend together on a single piece of paper. I defy anyone today alive to be able to reproduce this. There is no one."

The final touch on the cigar labels of the 19th century was a golden or silver one. The guilding was hand painted onto each label.

"When we look at stone lithographic art as it was produced in the 19th century, it's difficult to realize that there is no artist alive today who has the ability to reproduce this type of artwork. It's truly a lost art form," marveled Dr. Westfall.