Vintage tobacco carrot, 1950-1960

Vintage tobacco carrot. Years 50-60. Dimension 80 X 20 cm. Some bumps and very light scratches due to age. The carrot, it is first of all the name given to this red sign which one finds at the entry of all the tobacco offices. It is a legal obligation: all tobacconists are obliged to display this sign since 1906, to indicate that they sell tobacco. It has also evolved a lot: it was not necessarily red at the beginning, sometimes brown. Today, it must be illuminated. One of the explanations often heard about the origin of this symbol is that the carrot makes it possible to preserve the tobacco better. Putting a piece of carrot in a tobacco jar keeps it fresh, it's true... But this may not be the real explanation. It is an evocation of the sale of tobacco as it was done in the 16th century. At that time, tobacco was sold in leaves, which were chewed or smoked. And these leaves were not gathered in packets, but in small rolls tied up... looking like carrots.