Avanti Cigar Co. 100-year history recounted

(thetimes-tribune.com) A small drawing of a seal drew booming laughter during a history lesson on a local cigar company Sunday.
Dominic Keating, president of Avanti Cigar Co., regaled a packed room at the Lackawanna Historical Society Catlin House with the history of the company, which marked its 100th anniversary this year.
The family-owned organization, which operates in Scranton, still uses a small seal as a symbol on packages of its Parodi products.
The Parodi family, who lived in Italy, consulted a lawyer when they established a cigar company in the United States in the early 1900s. A misunderstanding caused by a language barrier led to their belief that the company required a seal - as in mammal - rather than a business seal. When the Avanti Cigar Co. bought the waning Parodi company in 1925, the symbol stuck. Continued