Perelman's Pocket Cyclopaedia of Havana Cigars
Richard B Perelman - Perelman, Pioneer & Company
This series of publications is currently in its third edition. Each edition is a small format soft covered booklet, approximately A6 in size - 153mm x 106mm. Some colour images are included.
The first edition (dated 1997) was published in 1996 and contained 108 pages.
The second edition was published in 1998 and contained 164 pages.
The third (and current) edition was published in 2005 and contained 186 pages. The text of this edition is currently freely available on the editors website.
All publications are in the same format and contain an introduction and six information sections:
- Cuba, Cohiba and Tobacco
- From Farm to Factory
- Havana Brands and Sizes
- Havana Brand History
- Smoking & Storing
- References
The cigar brands and size section list the cigars in four groups: current handmade, discontinued handmade, current machine-made, and discontinued machine made. Both current and discontinued brands are included. Details on special releases are included within each brand.
The first two editions listed the cigars by commercial name and the factory vitola name and number. The third (current) edition uses the commercial name and shape (the factory name is no longer included).
The general information sections do provide useful summaries.
Due the the significant recent changes in the Habanos range, the cigar lists (even in the current edition) are obsolete. Publications of this type need to be updated annually.
These publications however, do provide useful historic snap-shots at each period of time.