Prime Minister Churchill’s personally-owned cigar, measuring 6.75″ long, wrapped in a golden band that reads, “Romeo y Julieta, Churchill, Habana.” The metal case is marked by cigar dealer Erik Stokkebye, measuring 7″ long, and is labeled “Santa Maria, Havana,” with smaller text at the bottom reading, “Dedicated to The Right Honourable Winston Churchill, Doctor philosophiae honoris causa, The University of Copenhagen, Oct. the 10th 1950.” Includes a letter of provenance by an associate of Raleigh DeGeer Amyx, Sister Muriel Thomson, a private nurse to Winston S. Churchill. In full: “This is to certify that the ‘Santa Maria’ Havana cigar, is the said cigar, one of two, given to me by the late Sir Winston L. Spencer Churchill as supplied by Erik Stokkebye of Denmark.” Also accompanied by one photo of Sister Thomson holding the cigar and another of Churchill smoking a cigar. On October 10, 1950, Churchill attended a ceremony in Denmark to accept an honorary doctorate from University of Copenhagen, where he was introduced as the ‘architect of victory’ in World War II. The speech he gave spoke volumes about his appreciation of the mission of the university, memorably declaring: ‘The first duty of a university is to teach wisdom, not a trade; character, not technicalities. We want a lot of engineers in the modern world, but we do not want a world of engineers.’ It seems that Erik Stokkebye, the official supplier of Churchill’s cigars and a native of Denmark, gave this as a gift to Churchill to honor the event. This style of cigar is so iconic that it has become literally synonymous with the prime minister—the ‘Churchill,’ as labeled on the cigar band. A positively remarkable piece of history with terrific provenance from his nurse.
