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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 ...

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 1900s, 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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Show & Tell

Ronson Mastercase Lighter Scripto Vu lighter-Mr Bubbles german lighter Michelin Man Bibendum Bakelite Ashtray Please help identify this lighter? WOOD CARVING WOULD LIKE TO KNOW MORE ABOUT IT

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Interviews & Articles

An Interview with Vintage Cigarette Lighter Collector Urban Cummings

At the very beginning, my interest in lighters was about the mechanism. I had my first lighter when I was 14. I saved up my nickel… [more]

Guest Column: Collecting Vintage Cigarette Lighters

Cigarette lighter collecting is a hobby that never gets boring. Just by browsing eBay auctions for ten minutes, for example, I rec… [more]



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Tobacciana Videos



See all 31 videos


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Lamarde

Lamarde

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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Top eBay Auctions

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Recent News: Tobacciana

Source: Google News

Olde Tyme Stuffe, Inc.
Antiques and Arts Weekly, September 1st

Ornately Carved Victorian Bench as found, Vintage Mahogany Student's Desk, Mahogany Piano Bench, Mahogany Piano Stool, Nice Mahogany Tobacco Magazine...Read more

Mix and match with Dockers
Malaysia Star, September 1st

They come in the regular favourite shades of gold, magma, black coffee, tobacco and peat. For a more casual look, Dockers will be launching a Vintage Rugby...Read more

Q&A with king contrarian Alistair Mundy
Investment Week, September 1st

Looking back at 2007 and 2008 vintage stocks, which stocks have done really well for you? AM: The vintage that quickly corrected itself was the 2008 vintage...Read more

Beverly Hills Cigar Club Offers Three Great Picks for a Laid Back Holiday
Business Wire (press release), August 30th

Keep all that vintage tobacco "on ice" and celebrate the coming of fall humming one of Lee's suggested favorites, a 601 Blue Label Maduro by tobacco genius...Read more

Virtual farm games absorb real money, real lives
CNET (blog), August 27th

by Josh Lowensohn Last century's cash crops included tobacco, cotton, and sugar cane. Now we have magic cauliflower and super berries, too--and even though...Read more

Facebook bans use of marijuana leaf in ad
Los Angeles Times, August 24th

Instead, the campaign's image is an orange and yellow sun, reminiscent of vintage packing crate labels for the state's legal agricultural products...Read more

Vintage-era Tommy gun to be on display in Joliet
Victoria Advocate, August 24th

But this vintage weapon is inoperable and Hayes had to ask the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms for permission to donate the weapon to the...Read more

Principal deeply devoted to vintage rides
MiamiHerald.com, August 8th

He recently auctioned a tobacco brown 1972 Mercedes 280SE 4.5 on eBay for $13200. Like other leading edge boomers, Adler remembers growing up with 1950s hot...Read more