Tobacciana

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About Tobacciana

Tobacco became popular in Europe in the 1600's, after traders brought back tobacco plants from the Americas. Pipes, borrowed from the Native Americans, were the first popular method of smoking, and were made of wood, bone, clay, and even metal. Some of the most valuable antique pipes are those made of meerschaum, a rare white stone.

Cigars, which have long been popular in Central and South America, have a whole set of collectibles associated with them, including cigar boxes, humidors, cigar cutters, and special cigar lighters.

Next came the cigarette, popularized during the Crimean war when soldiers would roll their pipe tobacco in newsprint. Related collectibles include tobacco tins, tobacco cards, ashtrays, matchbooks, and vintage advertising and signs. Over the years, tobacco companies created iconic logos like Zig-Zag's Zouave and The Camel (later Joe Camel), and put their slogans on everything from clothing to posters to statuettes.

Cigarette lighters are a category all their own, with major brands including Zippo, Ronson, and Dunhill. There's a wide variety of lighters to collect in every material imaginable. Although lighters haven't changed much from their original designs in the early 1900's, the older the lighter, the more decorated they tend to be. And don't forget the lighter's precursor, the lowly but often highly ornamented match holder (aka match safe).

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Interviews & Articles

Guest Column: Collecting Vintage Cigarette Lighters

Guest Column: Collecting Vintage Cigarette Lighters

Cigarette lighter collecting is a hobby that never gets boring. Just by browsing eBay auctions for ten minute…  [more]



Best of the Web (“Hall of Fame”)

Match World

Match World

This ambitious site showcases the 20,000-item Rankei Library matchbook collection, owned by the Japan Match Manufac…  [more]

Kensitas Silk Flowers

Kensitas Silk Flowers

Don Wearmouth and his wife showcase the 230 beautiful silk designs that were distributed free with Kensitas cigaret…  [more]

Advertising Antiques

Advertising Antiques

This classy looking British site features hundreds of high resolution photos of antique porcelain pre-war (enamel) …  [more]

Matchbox Labels

Matchbox Labels

Jane McDevitt's huge Flickr photoset of matchbox labels, primarily Eastern European, from the 1950s and 60s. These …  [more]

Truth in Advertising

Truth in Advertising

This gallery of cigarette magazine advertising from the 1940s and 50s contains no surgeon general's warning, just p…  [more]

Matchbook Museum

Matchbook Museum

James Lileks' gallery of 250 matchbooks from coffee shops, hotels, motels, bars, banks, restaurants and more. Lilek…  [more]

Cigar Band Museum

Cigar Band Museum

Puff on this... over 1,000 cigar bands from the 1890s through 1920s, organized into themed galleries such as Portra…  [more]


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Recent News: Tobacciana

Source: Google News

Big tastes from Sonoma

Indianapolis Star, United States - Dec 2, 2008
A full-bodied vintage, it tastes of cherry, currant, cedar, oak and tobacco. Break it out to accompany a classic Hoosier pork tenderloin or a sausage pizza. ...

Written by Auction Central News Staff

Auction Central News, NY - 14 hours ago
Tobacco pocket tins include a crossover favorite: the Taxi Crimp Cut tin, which could fetch $3500-$5000. The Winter event includes 150 mechanical banks, ...

Uncorking more offerings for the holidays

Columbia Daily Tribune, MO - 21 hours ago
"These guys made a great wine in what was a bad vintage in Italy: 90-point caliber Brunello di Montalcino for under 20 bones. Provides all the classic ...

Book details vintage birding

Brantford Expositor, Canada - Nov 29, 2008
There were also some bird cards, which were put out as collectibles by the Imperial Tobacco Company and, apparently, were much sought after by the teenage ...

Alderfer Auction Company

Antiques and the Arts Online, CT - Nov 27, 2008
Lots of tobacco tins, boxes, packs, cartons, giveaways (cigar, chewing, smoking). Virtually everything else that you might find in a vintage 1920s/1930s ...

Kimballs Auction & Estate Services

Antiques and the Arts Online, CT - Dec 2, 2008
... BASEBALL CARDS INCL 4 1956 ROBERTO CLEMENTE, MANY COLOR NATURALIST PRINTS, VINTAGE CHRISTMAS BALLS & ACCESSORIES, TOBACCO FELTS, WORLDS FAIR ITEMS, ...

Tip of the Week

Cigar Aficionado - Nov 17, 2008
(There are rare exceptions, such as the Davidoff Vintage cigar, which is made with tobacco from one harvest year.) The very best cigar companies have ...

Against the Grain: Bucking the outsourcing trend

NetworkWorld.com, MA - Nov 20, 2008
Dominating Vazir Sultan Tobacco's boardroom is an original print of the erstwhile Nizam of Hyderabad inaugurating the company's formation in 1930. ...

Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon more than $50

San Francisco Chronicle,  USA - Nov 13, 2008
The 2005 vintage, which comprised the bulk of our tasting, is exceptional - consistent in quality, ripe and concentrated without over-the-top levels of ...

Vintage sailboat gets new life at Greensboro company

Greensboro News Record, NC - Nov 8, 2008
Lorelei was restored in a large warehouse up East Market, where the sweet smell of tobacco from Lorillard often hangs in the air. Lowell and his employees ...

Top eBay Auctions    (get weekly Tobacciana email)

Status       Display       How this works
Elie Bleu Orange Sycamore 75 Count Humidor $900.00 Ends in 16 hours 1 bid
Dupont Lighter 18k Solid Gold $881.00 Ends in 28 mins 37 bids
674: Apache Trail Oval Cigar Tin $600.00 Ends Thursday 1 bid
Dunhill Vintage Baby Sylph Lighter Exc $550.00 Ends Sunday 8 bids
625: American Eagle Flat Pocket Tobacco Tin $500.00 Ends Thursday 1 bid
673: Mohawk Chief Cigar Tin $500.00 Ends Thursday 1 bid
637: Dunnsboro Vertical Pocket Tobacco Tin $450.00 Ends Thursday 2 bids
Nice Anne Julie Pipe $416.00 Ends Friday 6 bids
627: Master Mason Vertical Pocket Tobacco Tin $400.00 Ends Thursday 3 bids
Wagon Wheel Tobacco Tin $399.00 Ends Sunday 1 bid
Joy Mining Zippo Lighter, Vintage $282.99 Ends Monday 12 bids
Old Cigar Indian Graphic Sign $280.56 Ends Tuesday 12 bids
Collectable Opus X Cigar Bands, $280.00 Ends Saturday 3 bids
Fuente Anejo No.77 "shark" Cigar Box Nib $255.00 Ends Saturday 2 bids

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