Smoking Related Collectables
Although acknowledged to be unhealthy, smoking has provided collectors with a wealth of fascinating and sometimes beautiful objects.

We all know that smoking is a bad habit that can be fatal. Now no longer fashionable, up until the 1960s and the 1970s it was seen by many as the height of sophistication and there were all kinds of accessories available to the smoker like cigarette and cigar holders, tobacco jars for pipe smokers, cigarette tins, cases and boxes and cigar cutters.

Although there are fewer smokers now, collecting smoking and tobacco related items, sometimes called smokabilia or tobacciana, is still popular. Some people collect across the full range while others specialize in particular areas like cigarette cards, advertising posters, snuffboxes, pipes and associated objects.

Clay Pipes
Pipes were the earliest form of smoking and anybody in Britain who lives in a place that has been inhabited for centuries stands a good chance of turning up a clay pipe or two when digging the garden. Some people collect only clay pipes and their collections can be amazingly diverse. Most of us automatically think of the short, plain white pipes but they can have long stems and some have amazingly decorative bowls in many shapes like barrels, people’s heads and animals.

In the 19th century, clay pipes gave way to briars and Meerschaums and in an effort to compete with these new materials, clay pipe manufacturers improved the quality of their products by using terracotta or black clay and by painting and glazing their pipes.

Meershaum Pipes
Meerschaum pipes are very collectable. They come in all kinds of shapes from a straight pipe with a simple bowl to ones with a vertical rather than horizontal stem, the kind associated with Sherlock Holmes, and some have fantastically carved bowls. Rather like the earlier clay pipes, examples can be seen where the bowl is carved in the shape of a woman’s head, a man on a bicycle, a dog or other unexpected designs. While many Meerschaums don’t have the huge bowls carved into unusual shapes, some very collectable ones have, instead, scenes carved on the bowl. The best Meerschaums have an amber mouthpiece, come in their original case and are undamaged.

Cigarette Cards
Cigarette smoking gradually became more widespread during the 19th century until, by the First World War, it had overtaken pipe smoking in popularity. There is a wide range of collectables associated with cigarettes including, of course, cigarette cards, probably one of the best known collecting areas. They began in the United States in the mid 1880s with the first British ones appearing in 1888 in the packets of W.D & H.O. Wills’ cigarettes. The early ones were purely for advertising but within a few years pictures appeared on the cards, initially with nothing printed on the back but very shortly, this changed and information was given about the subject of the picture.

Quickly, cigarette manufacturers realized the benefits of issuing cards in sets as a way of encouraging sales. No cards were issued in the UK during the First World War and, in the USA, subjects were a matter for serious consideration because of the sensitivities of the time. After the war, during the 1920s and 1930s, cigarette card collecting amongst smokers exploded with manufacturers issuing large numbers of sets. The Second World War saw the demise of cards as their manufacture was banned due to wartime restrictions on the use of raw materials. When the war ended, they were never really revived and other methods were used to sell cigarettes.

Other Cigarette Collectables
People also collect packets, some still with the original cigarettes in them, posters, boxes of matches and promotional material. In the USA, an example of this were silk college seals issued in 1910 by the American Tobacco Company while in Britain, during the 1930s, Kensitas cigarettes included beautiful woven silk flowers in their packs.

Cigarette cases are another popular collecting area. These were made in a variety of materials including wood, silver and enamel with many being highly decorative. Some of the most valuable and desirable were made by the legendary Fabergé in gold and gems. Although these are out of reach of the average collector, many cigarette cases are affordable – for example a very nice mother-of-pearl cigarette case from the 1920s or a well-decorated Edwardian one made in silver, can be bought for around £100.

Novelty Collectables
There are all kinds of highly collectable, novelty items associated with tobacco. Some of them verge on the pornographic. For example, there are Georgian pipe tampers (used for firming tobacco in the bowl of the pipe before lighting) in the shape of a woman lifting her skirts and exposing herself. This is a rare example but there are many tampers in the shape of a woman’s leg. Match strikers are another product often made in novelty shapes. I’ve seen them in the shape of a man’s head with matches sticking out, giving the impression of hair, another resembles Mr Punch from Punch and Judy, and a third is in the shape of an enormous brass fly. These are just a few examples. You will see many more because they come in an enormous range of designs.

Cigars
Finally, cigars provide another rich area for collectors. Many cigar boxes have beautiful labels and these are highly collectable. Prices start at a few pounds while the rarest and most desirable sell for well over £100. Cigar cases are also prized by collectors as are cigar holders and cutters.

Although nowadays smoking is seen as unhealthy pastime, objects associated with tobacco can be an enjoyable and fruitful area for collectors.

(This article first appeared in the UK monthly magazine What It's Worth?)

Copyright © 2005 Carol Fisher