verification . please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . january 2016 learn how and when to remove this template message nat sherman type private industry tobacco founded 1930 1930 founder nat sherman headquarters 12 e 42nd st new york new york united states key people joel sherman eric arthrell steve udovic ed dwarl products cigars cigarettes gifts and accessories website natsherman.com nat sherman is the brand name for a line of handmade cigars and luxury cigarettes . the company which began as a retail tobacconist continues to operate a flagship retail shop now located on 42nd street off fifth avenue in new york city . corporate offices are now located at the foot of the george washington bridge in fort lee new jersey . contents 1 company history 1.1 origin 1.2 1950s 1.3 1960s 1.4 1970s and 80s 1.5 1990s 2 in popular culture 3 footnotes company history edit origin edit inside the nat sherman townhouse before he was involved in the tobacco industry nat sherman made his fortune running a prominent speakeasy in new york city during the 1920s when prohibition made such a business extremely lucrative albeit risky . 1 perhaps as the result of settlement of a gambling debt his son later speculated sherman wound up as half owner of traub brothers and bear makers of the epoca cigar brand which introduced the nightclub proprietor into the world of tobacco manufacturing . 2 sherman subsequently bought out his partner to become sole owner of the epoca brand which was made in havana cuba and tampa florida . 1 later a prominent new york real estate developer named abe gubertz had cash flow difficulties during the construction of a 38 story building located at 1400 broadway on broadway in manhattan . sherman provided the struggling developer with a loan taking retail space located in the lobby as partial payment . 1 the shop sold cigarettes and cigars in substantial quantities to those who worked in the building and proved a means of distributing its own cigars including epoca and nat sherman branded product . 1 the company also was the exclusive importer and distributor of the cuban made bolivar brand in the united states . 1 1950s edit in the 1950s an adjoining retail space was obtained on the street which initially was used as a candy store . the wall between the two establishments was later broken down paving the way for an expansion of the tobacco shop which catered to an elite customer base which included leaders in the fashion industry theatre and politicians . 1 prominent members of organized crime families also frequented the shop which was regarded as neutral ground . 1 nat sherman s son joel company president and ceo into the 21st century later recalled of the shop s most dangerous customers these people drank the best liquor drove the most expensive cars had the most beautiful women and they smoked the best cigars . you d find people from opposing crime families meeting in the store . they d buy each other cigars while their bodyguards stood outside . 1 1960s edit nat sherman townhouse in new york city in 1950 sherman introduced the plastic tipped cigar to the industry called sherman s 25 . the cigar was produced in tampa for sherman by carl cuesta an american manufacturer of cigars for partagas . 1 the company applied for a patent for its cigar tip which was never granted . nevertheless for 32 years the company successfully bluffed away rivals by marking its packaging with the words patent pending and by threatening legal action . 1 sherman was also a pioneer in the manufacture of cigarettes which made use of cigar tobacco launching a product called havana ovals 149 early in the 1950s . according to company lore the move to specialty small cigars and cigarettes was made at the request of an irate customer who had been unable to smoke a cigar on an airplane and who had specifically requested a cigarette which tasted like a cigar . 1 during the 1960s the sherman shop expanded its wares to include pipes . over 1 000 pipes were offered for sale in a 40 foot 12 m long case hung along the wall of the store . 1 the company also began to sell pipe tobacco under the nat sherman brand name . 1 at the time of its expansion the company s pipe department was perhaps the largest in new york city and the united states . 2 in the 1960s a move was made to expand both the wholesale operations of the company and its cigarette manufacturing arm . the company s previous manufacturing facility in wilkes barre pennsylvania was shuttered and a move made to a new and larger facility in englewood new jersey . 1 1970s and 80s edit this section needs expansion . you can help by adding to it . january 2016 in the autumn of 1976 nat sherman decided to open a shop on new york s tony fifth avenue as a means of bolstering his tobacco brand s status even more and a new location was opened at 711 fifth avenue near the illustrious plaza hotel and across the street from tiffany & company . 1 after a period of serious differences with his father son joel sherman left the business for about a decade . 1990s edit naturals selection originals nat sherman metropolitan selection joel sherman returned to the company in 1990 the year after his father s death 1 he became the company s president and ceo terminated many of the existing management staff and set the company on the course of developing unique elite high end products . the company lost its lease at 711 fifth avenue and moved to a new 7 000 square foot 650 m2 location on 42nd street around the corner from the new york public library . a total of 1.5 million were spent on the development of the new store which boasts an inventory of about 500 000 cigars and a second floor walk in humidor and smoking room adorned with leather backed chairs . 1 sherman s cigar line metropolitan has been manufactured since the 1990s by matasa in the dominican republic . 1 its gotham 1400 and omerta products are manufactured and distributed by santa clara inc. . 1 the company s cigarette manufacturing is conducted in its own facility in greensboro north carolina . 1 in popular culture edit sherman advertised during new york giants radio broadcasts . every major play during the game giants commentator bob papa exclaimed get that man a nat sherman cigar . slang terminology for a pcp laced tobacco cigarette is a sherm or sherman named for the brand . footnotes edit wikimedia commons has media related to nat sherman . a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t margulis ronald . nat sherman s long march to success cigar magazine vol . 3 no. 4 winter 2006 pp. 70 85 . a b sherman joel . an interview with joel sherman of nat sherman pipesmagazine.com november 25 2009 . retrieved february 12 2011 . v t e cigarettes types fashion fire safe kretek lights menthol beedi components tobacco rolling paper filter additives peripherals ashtray case holder lighter pack receptacles vending machine culture cigarette card cigarette smoking among college students loosie smoking fetishism tobacco smoking health issues chain smoking cigarette smoking for weight loss nicotine poisoning passive smoking third hand smoke schizophrenia and smoking sidestream smoke smoking cessation tobacco harm reduction related products nicotine patch nicotine gum nicotine inhaler nicotine lozenge electronic cigarette candy cigarette herbal cigarette tobacco industry cultivation of tobacco egyptian cigarette industry history of commercial tobacco in the united states tobacco advertising government and the law cigarette smuggling illicit cigarette trade plain cigarette packaging smoking age smoking bans in private vehicles tobacco control movement tobacco master settlement agreement tobacco packaging warning messages tobacco politics who framework convention on tobacco control protocol to eliminate illicit trade in tobacco products lists cigarette brands cigarette smoke carcinogens countries by cigarette consumption per capita rolling papers smoking bans category commons retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title nat sherman & oldid 737164897 categories companies established in 1930companies based in new york citytobacco companies of the united statescigar brandscigarette brandsmanufacturing companies of the united stateshealth in the united statestobacco brandshidden categories articles needing additional references from january 2016all articles needing additional referencesarticles to be expanded from january 2016all articles to be expandedarticles using small message boxescommons category template with no category setcommons category without a link on wikidata navigation menu personal tools not logged intalkcontributionscreate accountlog in namespaces article talk variants views read edit view history more search navigation main pagecontentsfeatured contentcurrent eventsrandom articledonate to wikipediawikipedia store interaction helpabout wikipediacommunity portalrecent changescontact page tools what links hererelated changesupload filespecial pagespermanent linkpage informationwikidata itemcite this page print export create a bookdownload as pdfprintable version languages add links this page was last modified on 1 september 2016 at 03 40 . text is available under the creative commons attribution sharealike license ; additional terms may apply . by using this site you agree to the terms of use and privacy policy . wikipedia is a registered trademark of the wikimedia foundation inc. a non profit organization . privacy policy about wikipedia disclaimers contact wikipedia developers cookie statement mobile view