Object of the Day, Museum Edition: The Archibald Knox Cigarette Box, 1903-04

Cymric Cigarette Case
Designed by Archibald Knox for Liberty's, 1903-4
Silver set with Opals
The Victoria & Albert Museum

In the early Twentieth Century as smoking grew more fashionable for men, jewelers saw an opportunity to cash in on this new, unhealthy fad by creating luxurious cases for cigarettes in the same way they made snuffboxes two centuries earlier.

This box was of silver was designed by Archibald Knox for Liberty of London's "Cymric" line of silverware and jewellery.  As a designer, Knox's creations owe stylistically to the British Arts and Crafts movement and the work of C. R. Ashbee and his Guild of Handicraft in particular.

Charles Robert Ashbee was quick to notice the similarities of Liberty's designs to his work and he complained loudly that Liberty's unabashedly plagiarized his  works.  However, close inspection reveals that while there is a shallow similarity, Liberty's metalwork was, overall, more confident and bolder than the work of the Guild of Handicraft.

Let's take a look at this handsome case.  It is made of silver in a rectangular form with a cedarwood lining with two interior partitions. The front half of the hinged lid is embossed with an intricate pattern of interlacing designs which run down over the front of the body and onto the front half of each side.

The lid is elegantly set with a large opal in a heart shaped mount with smaller, cabochon opals in the front and on each side.

Knox's work was predominantly made in Birmingham, England for retail in London. This piece was made in Birmingham between 1903 and 1904.  Knox employed a metalworker called W.H. Hassler to produce his designs.

Gifts of Grandeur: The Gérard Sandoz Cigarette Case, 1929

Click Image to Enlarge.
Cigarette Case
Sandoz of Paris, c. 1932
The Victoria & Albert Museum

As cigarette smoking became the stuff of the elegant and fashionable, suitably posh accessories were created by jewelers to cash-in on the deadly habit. Lighters, cigarette holders and cigarette cases were made of the finest metals and gems, and, give a pretty face to a nasty practice. 

Take this handsome cigarette case from Paris. Made in 1929 by Gérard Sandoz, the flat, rectangular case is characteristic of the geometry of Art Deco design. Sandoz was a top Parisian jeweler whose angular style was one of the most influential of any jeweler of his period. You can see his favored style here with the geometric pattern of green, black and white enamel on silver. A stripe below the triangular pattern of the case is inlaid with eggshell—an odd medium for the day. However, Sandoz was a proponent of incorporating new materials into jewelry, and, obviously, he was quite good at it.  

Mastery of Design: The Rhodonite and Rose Diamond Cigarette Case, 1911

Rhodonite, Gold and Rose-Cut Diamond Cigarette Case
Presented to King George V, 1911
Crown Copyright
The Royal Collection
Image Courtesy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

Fabergé's Henrik Emanuel Wigström (1862-1923), created this handsome cigarette case of rhodonite, gold, and rose diamonds in 1911.  

The Grand Duke Michael of Russia purchased this case from Fabergé's London branch on 6 July 1911 at the cost of £64).  July 6 was the wedding anniversary of  King George V and Queen Mary whose coronation was in 1911.  The Grand Duke presented the King and Queen with this case to mark the anniversary.  George V proudly displayed this magnificent piece with his important collection of cigarette cases and snuffboxes.

The rounded rectangular case of rhodenite boasts gold hinges and silver mounts. Pierced diamond-set strapwork mounts flank the silver thumbpiece which has been set with a large rose diamond.

Mastery of Design: Edward VII's Cigarette Case, 1903

Cigarette Case
Presented to King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra, 1903
Crown Copyright
The Royal Collection 
Image Courtesy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

The Dowager Tsarina Marie Feodorovna presented this Fabergé cigarette case of three-color gold, rose-cut diamonds and a cabochon ruby to her brother-in-law King Edward VII in March 10, 1903 to mark the fortieth wedding anniversary of His Majesty and Her Majesty Queen Alexandra. The exuberantly elegant case takes a gently rounded rectangular shape—shining with red, yellow and white gold, (a favorite combination of Carl Fabergé) in a brilliant sunburst design. This pattern radiated around the combined cipher of King Edward and Queen Alexandra. The cipher, and on the reverse, the date, “10 March 1903 XL 1863–1903” are all set in diamonds.

Object of the Day, Museum Edition: A Cigarette Holder, c. 1925

Cigarette Holder
French, c. 1925
The Victoria & Albert Museum

By the late 1920s to early 1930s, to see a woman smoking in public was considered socially acceptable. The twenty years following the First World War (1914-1918) saw a social revolution wherein the accepted roles of women were changing. During the Great War, women had been drafted into the workforce to cover for the many men who were away at the front. Once the war was over, women did not return to the more passive roles in which they had been cast previously and enjoyed increased political and social freedoms—smoking included. But, a proper lady would not smoke in the same way that a man did. It wasn’t ladylike to hold the stub of a cigarette between her fingers—especially since doing so would spoil her gloves. The cigarette holder soon became an important accessory for a progressive woman.


Here, we see an aluminum cigarette holder which was made about 1925 in France. This creation of the Jazz Age features a bright cut decoration which carved at an angle so that it catches the light and sparkles like the many diamonds a lady would be wearing at this time. The holder telescoped to an elegant length—allowing the cigarette smoke to waft away from a woman’s coiffure and face. When she was finished, the holder could retract to be stashed into a reticule or handbag.

Object of the Day, Museum Edition: The Archibald Knox Cigarette Box, 1903-04

Cymric Cigarette Case
Designed by Archibald Knox for Liberty's, 1903-4
Silver set with Opals
The Victoria & Albert Museum

In the early Twentieth Century as smoking grew more fashionable for men, jewelers saw an opportunity to cash in on this new, unhealthy fad by creating luxurious cases for cigarettes in the same way they made snuffboxes two centuries earlier.

This box was of silver was designed by Archibald Knox for Liberty of London's "Cymric" line of silverware and jewellery.  As a designer, Knox's creations owe stylistically to the British Arts and Crafts movement and the work of C. R. Ashbee and his Guild of Handicraft in particular.

Charles Robert Ashbee was quick to notice the similarities of Liberty's designs to his work and he complained loudly that Liberty's unabashedly plagiarized his  works.  However, close inspection reveals that while there is a shallow similarity, Liberty's metalwork was, overall, more confident and bolder than the work of the Guild of Handicraft.

Let's take a look at this handsome case.  It is made of silver in a rectangular form with a cedarwood lining with two interior partitions. The front half of the hinged lid is embossed with an intricate pattern of interlacing designs which run down over the front of the body and onto the front half of each side.

The lid is elegantly set with a large opal in a heart shaped mount with smaller, cabochon opals in the front and on each side.

Knox's work was predominantly made in Birmingham, England for retail in London. This piece was made in Birmingham between 1903 and 1904.  Knox employed a metalworker called W.H. Hassler to produce his designs.

Mastery of Design: Edward VII's Cigarette Case, 1903

Cigarette Case
Presented to King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra, 1903
Crown Copyright
The Royal Collection
Image Courtesy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

The Dowager Tsarina Marie Feodorovna presented this Fabergé cigarette case of three-color gold, rose-cut diamonds and a cabochon ruby to her brother-in-law King Edward VII in March 10, 1903 to mark the fortieth wedding anniversary of His Majesty and Her Majesty Queen Alexandra. The exuberantly elegant case takes a gently rounded rectangular shape—shining with red, yellow and white gold, (a favorite combination of Carl Fabergé) in a brilliant sunburst design. This pattern radiated around the combined cipher of King Edward and Queen Alexandra. The cipher, and on the reverse, the date, “10 March 1903 XL 1863–1903” are all set in diamonds.

Unusual Artifacts: A Shagreen Cigarette Case, 1879

Click image to enlarge

Cigarette Case
Shagreen, metal and silk
France, 1879
The Victoria & Albert Museum

With the fashion of smoking on the rise for gentlemen at the end of the Nineteenth Century, jewelers created luxurious cigarette cases. Usually, these were made of precious metals, but sometimes, a case would be covered in an unusual material. This case was made of shagreen (sharkskin) which has been artificially colored. The case is lined with purple watered silk. It was made in France for sale at Howell and James’ shop in Regent Square, London. 

Gifts of Grandeur: The Gérard Sandoz Cigarette Case, 1929

Click Image to Enlarge.
Cigarette Case
Sandoz of Paris, c. 1932
The Victoria & Albert Museum

As cigarette smoking became the stuff of the elegant and fashionable, suitably posh accessories were created by jewelers to cash-in on the deadly habit. Lighters, cigarette holders and cigarette cases were made of the finest metals and gems, and, give a pretty face to a nasty practice. 

Take this handsome cigarette case from Paris. Made in 1929 by Gérard Sandoz, the flat, rectangular case is characteristic of the geometry of Art Deco design. Sandoz was a top Parisian jeweler whose angular style was one of the most influential of any jeweler of his period. You can see his favored style here with the geometric pattern of green, black and white enamel on silver. A stripe below the triangular pattern of the case is inlaid with eggshell—an odd medium for the day. However, Sandoz was a proponent of incorporating new materials into jewelry, and, obviously, he was quite good at it.  

Object of the Day, Museum Edition: The Archibald Knox Cigarette Box, 1903-04

Cymric Cigarette Case
Designed by Archibald Knox for Liberty's, 1903-4
Silver set with Opals
The Victoria & Albert Museum

In the early Twentieth Century as smoking grew more fashionable for men, jewelers saw an opportunity to cash in on this new, unhealthy fad by creating luxurious cases for cigarettes in the same way they made snuffboxes two centuries earlier.

This box was of silver was designed by Archibald Knox for Liberty of London's "Cymric" line of silverware and jewellery.  As a designer, Knox's creations owe stylistically to the British Arts and Crafts movement and the work of C. R. Ashbee and his Guild of Handicraft in particular.

Charles Robert Ashbee was quick to notice the similarities of Liberty's designs to his work and he complained loudly that Liberty's unabashedly plagiarized his  works.  However, close inspection reveals that while there is a shallow similarity, Liberty's metalwork was, overall, more confident and bolder than the work of the Guild of Handicraft.

Let's take a look at this handsome case.  It is made of silver in a rectangular form with a cedarwood lining with two interior partitions. The front half of the hinged lid is embossed with an intricate pattern of interlacing designs which run down over the front of the body and onto the front half of each side.

The lid is elegantly set with a large opal in a heart shaped mount with smaller, cabochon opals in the front and on each side.

Knox's work was predominantly made in Birmingham, England for retail in London. This piece was made in Birmingham between 1903 and 1904.  Knox employed a metalworker called W.H. Hassler to produce his designs.

Gifts of Grandeur: Prince Henry's Cigarette Case, 1896-1903

Cigarette Case
Michael Perchin, 1896-1903
Crown Copyright
The Royal Collection
Image Courtesy of:
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 

Made by Michael Perchin (1860-1903) for Fabergé between 1896 and 1903, this cigarette case is crafted from palisander wood, two -color gold, guilloché enamel and moonstone.  The case was made for King George V—a constant smoker—who later gifted it to his son, Prince Henry, the Duke of Gloucester who shared his father’s passion for tobacco. 

Michael Perchin, whose period as head work-master at Fabergé is generally acknowledged to have been one of the most creative in the firm’s history, chose an Egyptian sphinx and classical anthemions (ornamental motifs based on honeysuckle) to decorate this special case. 

Unusual Artifacts: A Shark Skin Cigarette Case, 1879

Cigarette Case of Shark Skin, Brass and Watered Purple Silk
France, 1879
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Though tobacco was first introduced to England from the Americas in the Sixteenth Century, cigarettes had first become widely popular in Britain in the 1850s due mainly to their portability and ease of use.  Prior to this tobacco was either chewed, smoked in pipes or mixed with herbs and spices so that it could be inhaled as snuff.  All of these were rather messy prospects, so cigarettes proved most convenient.  Still their cost was prohibitive and they were really only available to those who could afford them.   New smokers found that while cigarettes were a more tidy and convenient way to cram nicotine into their bloodstreams than a wad of tobacco, cigarettes were considerably more delicate than a pouch full of leaves, and so, they sought a convenience which might protect them.  Turning to snuffboxes for inspiration, jewelers devised cigarette cases to secure these new social drugs.  And, like snuffboxes, cigarette cases—truly already something for the moneyed individuals who could afford cigarettes in the first place—soon became an opportunity to display the owners wealth and style., making them the ultimate luxury item. 

This unusual case is made of costly sharkskin which has been artificially colored and lined with silk.  This odd luxury was imported from Paris, France for sale in Howell and James's shop in Regent Street, London, in the 1870s.

In the Nineteenth Century, tobacco was still associated with medical usage and smokers and tobacco chewers believed that the stuff would help with a toothache, chilblains, ulcers and wounds.  Ummmm…no.   Of course, for a woman to use tobacco—except maybe for snuff—was considered in poor taste until the 1930s.  

Mastery of Design: The Tsar Nicholas II Cigarette Case, 1896

Crown Copyright
The Royal Collection
Courtesy of Her Majesty
Queen Elizabeth II

 
Made in 1896 for Fabergé  by August Hollming (1854-1913), this cigarette case of gold, brilliant-cutdiamonds, and a cabochon sapphire was commissioned by Tsar Nicholas II.  It is said to have been the tsar’s favorite case. 

After the death of the tsar, the case somehow found its way (no doubt through the machinations of Queen Mary) into the collection of King George VI who also favored the case and used it often.