The Great Cigar Heist of Front Street
When a local merchant's inventory went missing in the night, the hunt for the culprits led straight to a city saloon's coal bin.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Last night between the hours of ten and eleven, about $200 worth of cigars, tobacco, and meerschaum goods were stolen from Jack Levy’s cigar stand. Mr. Levy went on the steamer North Pacific this morning to Victoria, believing he has obtained a clue to the robbery. An employee of the Vanity Fair saloon today found a number of the boxes of the cigars in a coal bin. Mr. Levy has offered a reward of $20 for the arrest and conviction of the person or persons committing the robbery.
“An employee of the Vanity Fair saloon today found a number of the boxes of the cigars in a coal bin.”
Petty theft of inventory remains a perennial challenge for small business owners in Seattle, just as it was in 1877. While the 'Vanity Fair' saloon is long gone, the struggle to balance downtown retail security with the needs of a growing, transient population is as relevant today as it was when the city relied on steamer connections to Victoria.
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