3 more days til Christmas: So we encourage you to stop in and find the treasure you’ve been searching for. Our sampling today includes coffee items, collectible ashtrays and character glasses, art prints, and more.
COFFEE GRINDERS & TINS
Consider these items for the coffee lover/collector on your list (plus the beautiful coffee grinders in the featured image)
Collectible Ashtrays (& smoking memorabilia)
Although smoking is much less desirable now, there are many collectors of smoking memorabilia. We have a nice selection of ashtrays that might be perfect for someone on your list who will appreciate your thoughtfulness.
Whether you smoke or not, vintage ashtrays are appealing collectibles. Their small size makes them easy to acquire and display in large numbers without taking up too much space. Snapshots of their culture, ashtrays were made during some of the most creative eras in history, so if you’re a fan of the Victorian, Arts and Crafts, or counterculture era, you’re sure to find one that fits your taste and aesthetic.
No longer seen as mere utilitarian pieces with the sole purpose of holding odious cigarette butts, ashtrays have become rightly appreciated as decorative art.
Throughout our store, you’ll find amazing art prints and some original artwork, covering nearly every topic from beautiful birds and animals to vintage art, some framed. Stop in and browse.
Collectible Character Glasses and more
We all remember getting collectible glasses that once held jelly or came in boxes of detergent or we received when purchasing gas for our cars. We have a wonderful selection available.
Royal Tara Hunt Scene China, Jack-in-the-Box, and Ceramic Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs
These last 3 items are to tickle your fancy and maybe be the perfect treasure for that special person on your list.
So bundle up and hurry in. We have some wonderful ideas for you. Tomorrow we’ll have another gift-giving sampler for you to consider! You know we’re here and we’re watchin’ for ya – ready to help you discover our treasures.
Whether or not you smoke, ashtrays are appealing collectibles for numerous reasons.
First, they are small, which means you can acquire hundreds of ashtrays and display them in a relatively finite amount of space.
Second, they were made out of a wide range of materials, so if you are a fan of art glass, pounded copper, or ceramics, there is bound to be an ashtray for you.
Third, ashtrays were produced during some of the most creative periods in history, which means there are ashtrays for fans of the Victorian era, Arts and Crafts, and Art Deco.
Finally, ashtrays are snapshots of their culture, so it is not uncommon to find ashtrays that were produced to advertise products and events of the day.
Ashtrays came in all styles – silly to beautifully designed, touristy and promotional.
To show you just how diverse ashtray collections can be, here we show you a German Spinner by Gerzt (top center), the resting Mexican (made in Japan), the promotional ashtray from PENROSE, and the horse’s ‘arse’. Yep, something for everyone!
Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
Did you know that ashtrays are a design element included in the Cooper Hewitt Museum, located in the Andrew Carnegie Mansion on Fifth Avenue, NYC? We sure wish we had one of these in our collection!
Russel Wright designed ashtray
… is displayed at the Cooper Hewitt
Preserving the natural qualities of ceramics in spite of the dominance of machine-produced pottery has been a challenge for designers since the introduction of machinery to the production process in the eighteenth century.
Russel Wright addressed this design dilemma through his biomorphic earthenware. This ashtray, part of a 1949 series manufactured by Sterling China for hotels and restaurants, embodies Wright’s idea of designing machine-made ceramics that simulate their handcrafted counterparts. Flaring up and out from its low base, the ashtray has a curved, asymmetrical rim that appears as though it was pinched and folded by hand. Although entirely molded by machine, the ashtray’s profile suggests the involvement of human contact throughout its production. The organic form also makes the ashtray user-friendly and invites human contact and interactions: the undulating rim is excellent for resting cigarettes, and the groove holds a matchbook perfectly. The groove also allowed restaurant workers to stack multiple ashtrays, the base of one fitting neatly into the ashtray below.
Do you ever wonder who invented the first lighter? No, it wasn’t the Zippo Company, though they certainly improved on it! The first was invented in 1823. The Zippo didn’t come into the picture until 1932.
Johann Wolfgang Döbereiner invented the first lighter known as “Döbereiner’s Lamp.” It looked nothing like the lighters we use today and was also difficult to use and extremely dangerous.
The above lighters can be found in our shop and include: Top left: a cigarette case with lighter, a Queen Anne style lighter, a novelty grenade, military shell, and card cube, a Zippo lighter, and a rather art deco looking styled tabletop lighter.
So if you, or someone you know, has a collection of lighters and/or ashtrays, you just might want to check our collection. We’re here. And we’re watchin’ for ya!
Do you remember that? We may be smoking less today, but anyone of a ‘certain age’ will remember that slogan for Lucky Strikes cigarettes. Maybe you remember buying a pack of candy cigarettes and riding on your bicycle pretending to be smoking. Okay, okay… maybe you didn’t. (chuckle)
TOBACCIANA
2 corn cob pipes and a wood-carved pipe
Tobacciana is the collecting of anything tobacco-related. Old tins, cigarette packs, cigarette papers, pipes, ashtrays, tobacco tins, etc.
Choosing a favorite among tobacco memorabilia may be the most challenging aspect of this hobby. From the art to the accessories, selecting which items to collect is a great challenge.
corn cob and wood-carved pipes, cigarettes, smoking tobacco, cigar ashtray, hand-carved buffalo and owl pipes.
close-up of the buffalo and owl hand-carved pipes
If you really want to delve into the world of Tobacciana, you may want to check out this Tobacco Pipe Glossary. In the meantime, stop in and see just what we have in our Tobacciana Collection!Of course, we’re watchin’ for ya and can’t wait to say, “Welcome to Bahoukas!”
