Elementum Press
About us

Elementum Press

Fear Not, Rise & Slay

Why “Elementum”

ĕlĕmentum, ī (Latin, neuter noun)
1.
A first principle, an element. Pliny counts four elements of the world.[1]
2.
In the plural, elementa: the letters of the alphabet.[1]
3.
The rudiments of an art or science, the first things a student learns; and the beginnings of anything.[1]

Our English word element comes from it, by way of Old French.[2] Even where elementum itself came from is debated: one old idea is that it was named for the letters L, M, N, much as we still call the basics of a subject its ABCs.[3]

All three meanings describe what we make. A periodic table takes a subject and breaks it into its elements; gives each one a letter symbol, the way an alphabet does; and lays out the rudiments so a newcomer can learn them, while an expert sees the whole subject at once.

How our tables work

Behind every poster is a research database we built for the purpose. It is what turns a decorative print into a reference you can trust and use.

  1. One element, one record. Each leaf, process, shape, brand style or growing region is entered once, with its name, symbol, number, group and the published source it rests on. Where no published rating exists, we mark it NR (not rated) rather than guess.
  2. One source of truth. The same records print the posters, print the Source Register that comes with each one, and run the website. Print and screen always agree, and a correction made once appears everywhere.
  3. Interactive on the web. At periodictobaccotables.com every tile opens to explain what it is and where it comes from. Visitors can search the tables, find blends with the Blend Finder, keep a record of their own tins and cigars in My Cellar (with barcode scanning), and explore maps of the growing regions with current weather, in English, Spanish and Italian.
  4. A meeting place for the trade. The same site links people to makers, shops, clubs, growers, universities and research stations, events, jobs and The Tobacco Report.

Why it matters

For enthusiasts

See a whole subject at a glance, learn what each element is, find what to try next, and keep track of what you own.

For shops and makers

A reference on the wall that helps customers understand and choose, and a place online for your business to be found.

For growers and researchers

Terroir and the farm get their due, and businesses can find the science and the scientists behind the leaf.

For everyone

Every claim is sourced, so you can check it. We publish reference works; we do not sell tobacco.

The founder

Elementum Press, LLC was founded by Peter J. Ianniello in Havre de Grace, Maryland. He is an author, inventor and entrepreneur, founded Mount Felix Vineyard & Winery, and holds more than 50 U.S. patent filings. He created The Periodic Tobacco Tables because the leaf deserved the same careful periodic table of elements that chemistry already had. A vintner by trade, he knows that what ends up in the glass, the wrapper, or the pipe, begins with the soil, the seed and the family that farms it.

Peter’s full biographyWrite to us

The biography is on periodictobaccotables.com, a site for adults 21 and older.

Sources

  1. Lewis & Short, A Latin Dictionary (1879), “elementum” (senses I, II.A, II.B, II.C; citing Pliny 2.5, Suetonius, Caesar 56, Cicero, Quintilian 1.2.26)
  2. Wiktionary, “element”, English etymology
  3. Wiktionary, “elementum”, Latin etymology (origin uncertain; the L-M-N idea is offered as “perhaps”)

About page version 1.1, October 2026.