As a result of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour on December 7th 1941, and American declaring war on Japan, Churchill arrived in Washington for meetings with Roosevelt on the 22nd December 1941 and was to stay for 3 weeks.

Correspondence included with this lot from Robert Hastings and others explains that Samuel Kaplan kept Churchill supplied with the finest of Cuban cigars during World War II. Kaplan also had special Churchill bands made up for these cigars. During the course of the war several thousand of these cigars were shipped to Churchill through the British Embassy in Washington. The 2 cigars included in the lot are not the cigars refered to in the letter.