Michael Stachelberg (1837-1895) was a Russian immigrant from Moscow who either in 1849 or 1850 came to the US and settled in New York City according to a 1917 Passport Application and a 1918 Passport Application filed by his widow Malvina Jachobi (1849- ), whom he married in 1864.  According to this ad in the November 22, 1901 issue of the Tobacco publication, M. Stachelberg & Co. was established in 1857 when it appears he was the sole member of the business.

In 1865 Asher Bijur, manufacturer of the La Normandi cigar brand since 1858, sold, transferred and conveyed all his right, title and interest in and to the exclusive use of the words 'La Normandi' and 'Normandi’ to Michael Stachelberg, his heirs and assigns. According to the court case Stachelberg et al vs. Ponce decided on December 17, 1888 by the US Supreme Court, on or about January 1, 1873 Bijur and Stachelberg formed a partnership under the name of M. Stachelberg & Co., said names 'La Normandi' and 'Normandi’ becoming their joint property. Since the name M. Stachelberg & Co. was obviously in existence before 1873, it is reasonable to believe that the new partnership established on January 1, 1873 was to add Bijur as a partner in the firm.

Upon Michael Stachelberg's death on April 4, 1895, his son Charles G. Stachelberg (1865-1900) took over the firm which got to employ more than three hundred workers importing tobacco leafs from Cuba and making Clear Havana cigars in their factory at 154 S 5th Ave. in New York City.  Charles died unexpectedly just five years later when his brother Edgar J. Stachelberg (1867-1939) became the principal of the company.  

This March 28, 1902 edition of Tobacco publication, states that in 1902 M. Stachelberg & Co. had outgrown their location in West Tampa from where they planned to move to a new factory on a lot at E Lafayette St. (now Kennedy Blvd.) they acquired from A. H. West. “ This will open up the manufacturing business in an entirely new section of the city, and when this factory is completed Tampa will have them scattered in every direction.” This move though, never happened.  As shown in this Sanborn Insurance Fire Map, in 1903 M. Stachelberg & Co. purchased and occupied the Blas Trujillo & Co. factory building built in 1894 on 14th Ave. & 17th St. in Ybor City which had been vacant since Mr. Trujillo’s death by suicide in 1900.  Sometime prior to 1908, M. Stachelberg & Co. and Esberg, Gunst & Co. consolidated, but each one continued to operate their own separate factory, both of which were destroyed by the great Ybor City fire on March 2, 1908.  An article on the May 6, 1908 edition of the Tobacco Leaf Publication states that the Stachelberg and Esberg-Gunst combination acquired a piece of land from W. C. Clarkson of P. San Martin & Co. to build a new three and a half story cigar factory on 19th St. between 2nd Ave. & 3rd Ave. that was expected to be completed by the fall of that year. The Esberg-Gunst Co. and M. Stachelberg & Co. shared occupancy of the building for only two years or so.  It was after 1925 the home of Corral-Wodiska & Cia.  

This factory building was constructed in 1902 at the corner of 13th St. &  8th Ave. as an addition to the V. Martinez Ybor & Co. factory building. It was known as the Stemmery Building because it was here where the tobacco stems would be separated from the leaves.  The original V. Martinez Ybor & Co. factory complex built in 1886, eventually consisted of three buildings on the same city block, the last one being the warehouse building where the Spaghetti Warehouse Restaurant was for twenty five years until it closed in 2016. By 1915 as evidenced by this Sanborn Insurance Fire Map, M. Stachelberg & Co. leased the second and third floors while the first floor was occupied by the Havana American Cigar Co., the successor to Ybor-Manrara Co. in turn successor to V. Martinez Ybor & Co. M. Stchelberg & Co. remained a tenant here until March 28, 1932 when they ceased operations in Ybor City and relocated to Trenton, NJ.  Due to the length of time they operated at this facility and even though it was not originally built as a factory building per se, it became known as the M. Stchelberg Cigar Stachelberg as can be seen from the vintage photo below.

M. Stachelberg & Co. has been at times confused with that of Seidenberg & Co., certain sources having also incorrectly identified them as being one as the same.