ANTIQUE CIGARETTE HOLDER CASE 1920-30’s 'RFB' Hinged Lid Leather GOOD CONDITION
$ 9.77
Description
This is an ANTIQUE CIGARETTE HOLDER CASE from the 1920's. It has the initials RFB (presumably the manufacturer, though I could not find any details on the internet) on the HINGED LID, along with the words, REAL AMBER. It is lined with RED VELVET and covered with LEATHER and looks to be HANDMADE. Because it's so light weight and old, I consider it pretty delicate and in GOOD to FAIR CONDITION. Some of the leather has been worn down on the rim. Please see the photos for more details. It was my Great Uncle Andy's and he was born in 1898 and died in 1996. I understand he was quite the dapper man about town when he was young. Even as an elderly man, as I knew him, he was quite handsome and a suave dresser. Here is some information on the history of the cigarette holder in general. Wikipedia says : " Most frequently made of silver, jade or bakelite (popular in the past but now wholly replaced by modern plastics), cigarette holders were considered an essential part of fashion from the early 1910s through early to the mid 1970s ." artdeco.org says : " Men in tailored suits and women in sequined dresses dancing the Charleston in black-and-white films. Glimmering skyscrapers. Brass bands playing in smoky Harlem nightclubs. Lawn parties with endless cocktails on Long Island. Radio City Music Hall. These are the images conjured up by the Jazz Age and its Art Deco design aesthetic. But the Deco was all in the details: sunbursts on iron gates; fringed dresses cut just so; gold-leaf ceilings; Bakelite radios; stylized, geometric designs affecting nearly everything from posters to furnishings; and a diminutive object held casually in the hand as smoke wafted in the air. The cigarette holder protected fingers or gloves, as well as teeth, from staining, allowed the cigarette to be smoked down while keeping fingers cool, and kept smoke away from sensitive eyes, but it was really all about show. Anyone could smoke a cigarette, rich and poor alike, but to stand apart, to make a statement about personality and class, users enlivened the paper-wrapped tobacco with a variety of accessories: cigarette cases, ashtrays, lighters, match safes, and of course, most visibly, the holder. In the narrative of Jazz Age smoking and its accoutrements, the cigarette (and its holder) played a surprisingly significant social role." The holder case WILL ACCEPT A HOLDER THAT IS that is APPROXIMATELY 2 1/2 INCHES BY 1/2 INCH BY 1/2 INCH , so perhaps you have just the right one! The OUTSIDE OF THE CASE MEASURES 3 INCHES by 1 1/16 INCHES by 1 INCH and as you can see is CURVED ON ONE END. This would be a great addition to the COLLECTOR of the EXTENSIVE SMOKING HI of the UNITED STATES. While you're checking this case out, please take a look at the other items in my eBay store. You might just find another awesome treasure!
