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It wasn’t until the Revenue Act of 1864 that all cigars were required to be packed in boxes, and in 1865, President Lincoln enacted a law that required they be packed in bundles of 25, 50, 100, or 250. Shortly thereafter, cigars became cheaper and more available, and many of the boxes that they came in are considered collectible items today.
Although the majority of cigar boxes were made of wood, examples can be found in numerous other materials, such as glass, plastic, aluminum, brass, tin, and china. They come in a range of shapes and sizes, from intricately carved and decorated wooden chests to cardboard boxes with bold, attention-grabbing advertising text...
The most common type of cigar box is known as "Nailed Wood" (some collectors shorten this to simply "NW"), which is made up of six pieces of wood nailed together, most often allowing room for 50 cigars.
Novelty cigar boxes are also highly collectible, and some were designed in such a way that they had other uses after being emptied—for example, during the Depression, companies offered cigar boxes that could later be used as jewelry boxes. Others were made into tramp art by local carvers.
Cigar boxes were sometimes designed in fun shapes to catch the attention of potential buyers. These include cigar boxes in the shape of log cabins, cars and buses, bottles, books, and trunks, as well as those that can be used as checkers or backgammon boards.
Tony Hyman has been collecting cigar boxes since he was 12. The National Cigar Museum has been open for 10 to 12 … [more]
At the very beginning, my interest in lighters was about the mechanism. I had my first lighter when I was 14. I sav… [more]
Cigarette lighter collecting is a hobby that never gets boring. Just by browsing eBay auctions for ten minutes, for… [more]
A treasure trove of information about cigars and cigar ephemera, this site is a must-see for any tobacciana collect… [read review or visit site]
Puff on this... over 1,000 cigar bands from the 1890s through 1920s, organized into themed galleries such as Portra… [read review or visit site]
This ambitious site showcases the 20,000-item Rankei Library matchbook collection, owned by the Japan Match Manufac… [read review or visit site]
Don Wearmouth and his wife showcase the 230 beautiful silk designs that were distributed free with Kensitas cigaret… [read review or visit site]
Jane McDevitt's huge Flickr photoset of matchbox labels, primarily Eastern European, from the 1950s and 60s. These … [read review or visit site]
This gallery of cigarette magazine advertising from the 1940s and 50s contains no surgeon general's warning, just p… [read review or visit site]
James Lileks' gallery of 250 matchbooks from coffee shops, hotels, motels, bars, banks, restaurants and more. Lilek… [read review or visit site]
Tom Boblitt moderates this extremely deep, collaborative site dedicated to non-sports cards (tobacco, gum and candy… [read review or visit site]
This blog, entirely in Spanish, is an amazingly comprehensive and varied tribute to tobacco and cigarette advertisi… [read review or visit site]
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