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Post a commentArts & Antiques 11-1
Tobacco-themed collectibles
While I have many vices, most of which involve chocolate, I am a non-smoker. Every November, I consider giving up chocolate for a day in support of my smoking friends who quit smoking for a day during the American Cancer Society’s annual Great American Smokeout.
The day urges smokers to give up cigarettes for a day in an effort to draw attention to the ills associated with smoking.
So, what does this have to do with antiques, you ask?
Since the first Great American Smokeout in 1976, the field of collecting smoking and tobacco-related objects have enjoyed great interest. Art historians recall images of smoking that date back to the ancient world, while seasoned antique hounds search for smoking collectibles such as late 19th-entury cigar bands, early 20th-century tobacco tins, cigarette advertising posters, match books, smoking automatons (valued at $5,000 to $10,000) and Zippo lighters.
Smoke of a Different Color
More and more, smokers are kicking the habit and parting with their lighters, humidors and smoking jackets. Some of the most interesting tobacco collectibles are craft items made from cigarette packs and cigar bands.
The pictured woven handbag was produced by a smoker who didn’t want to pick up my bad habit of nibbling chocolate after she kicked the habit, so she took up handicrafts.
She kept her hands busy weaving cigarette packs into purses and other pretty accessories instead of snacking.
Woven in the 1950s from numerous cigarette packs, this colorful handbag is a great vintage item popular with both smoking and couture collectors. It’s worth $300 to $400 on the secondary market today.
Smoking caps look back to a simpler time when people did not wash their hair daily. In the 19th-century, hair washing was not a frequent part of daily hygiene and as such smoking caps were a sign of culture and couture. Most fashionable in the late 19th century when the Orientalist period was in full swing, many people wore Ottoman-style or Turkish smoking caps.
Today, collectors pay as much as $500 for a small embroidered smoking cap from this era with stale smoke odor included free of charge.
Celebrity Smokers
Famed Antarctic explorer Ernest Shackleton’s empty cigarette ration tin from his 1909 expedition sold for a hefty $8,920 at Christie’s in London. A historical figure and a heavy smoker, this ration tin provided for one cigarette per month during the endurance expedition to Antarctica.
Like explorers, famous smokers from Hollywood celebrities to Washington politicians provide the smoking market with lots of options.
For instance, President Kennedy’s lighter from the 1960s campaign featuring images of both Kennedy and Johnson recently sold at auction for $600, and images of Hollywood starlets including Lauren Bacall and Betty Davis with cigarette in hand always bring big numbers at auction.
Here’s one for the record books: An 1885 cigar store advertising figure sold for an unbelievable $126,750.
Dr. Lori is an antiques appraiser, author, award-winning TV personality and TV talk show host. She presents antique appraisal events nationwide. Join Dr. Lori on her next vacation cruise focusing on antiques. Watch Dr. Lori on the Fine Living Network’s “Worth Every Penny” and on the nationally syndicated TV morning show “Daytime.” For more information, visit www.DrLoriV.com or call 888-431-1010.
The day urges smokers to give up cigarettes for a day in an effort to draw attention to the ills associated with smoking.
So, what does this have to do with antiques, you ask?
Since the first Great American Smokeout in 1976, the field of collecting smoking and tobacco-related objects have enjoyed great interest. Art historians recall images of smoking that date back to the ancient world, while seasoned antique hounds search for smoking collectibles such as late 19th-entury cigar bands, early 20th-century tobacco tins, cigarette advertising posters, match books, smoking automatons (valued at $5,000 to $10,000) and Zippo lighters.
Smoke of a Different Color
More and more, smokers are kicking the habit and parting with their lighters, humidors and smoking jackets. Some of the most interesting tobacco collectibles are craft items made from cigarette packs and cigar bands.
The pictured woven handbag was produced by a smoker who didn’t want to pick up my bad habit of nibbling chocolate after she kicked the habit, so she took up handicrafts.
She kept her hands busy weaving cigarette packs into purses and other pretty accessories instead of snacking.
Woven in the 1950s from numerous cigarette packs, this colorful handbag is a great vintage item popular with both smoking and couture collectors. It’s worth $300 to $400 on the secondary market today.
Smoking caps look back to a simpler time when people did not wash their hair daily. In the 19th-century, hair washing was not a frequent part of daily hygiene and as such smoking caps were a sign of culture and couture. Most fashionable in the late 19th century when the Orientalist period was in full swing, many people wore Ottoman-style or Turkish smoking caps.
Today, collectors pay as much as $500 for a small embroidered smoking cap from this era with stale smoke odor included free of charge.
Celebrity Smokers
Famed Antarctic explorer Ernest Shackleton’s empty cigarette ration tin from his 1909 expedition sold for a hefty $8,920 at Christie’s in London. A historical figure and a heavy smoker, this ration tin provided for one cigarette per month during the endurance expedition to Antarctica.
Like explorers, famous smokers from Hollywood celebrities to Washington politicians provide the smoking market with lots of options.
For instance, President Kennedy’s lighter from the 1960s campaign featuring images of both Kennedy and Johnson recently sold at auction for $600, and images of Hollywood starlets including Lauren Bacall and Betty Davis with cigarette in hand always bring big numbers at auction.
Here’s one for the record books: An 1885 cigar store advertising figure sold for an unbelievable $126,750.
Dr. Lori is an antiques appraiser, author, award-winning TV personality and TV talk show host. She presents antique appraisal events nationwide. Join Dr. Lori on her next vacation cruise focusing on antiques. Watch Dr. Lori on the Fine Living Network’s “Worth Every Penny” and on the nationally syndicated TV morning show “Daytime.” For more information, visit www.DrLoriV.com or call 888-431-1010.
