Are most of these actually snuff boxes?

Yes. Snuff appears in 91 of 201 titles on Sellingantiques, so the pocket and table snuff box is the single most common thing under the heading. Tobacco jars come next at 26 titles, then brass boxes at 25. Cigar humidors and smokers' cabinets make up a smaller run.

What makes a Dutch tobacco box different?

The recognisable type is an eighteenth-century engraved brass box, sometimes copper, and 22 titles name Dutch work. Subjects can be pictorial. One copper box of the late seventeenth century depicts Calvin and Luther. Alongside the Dutch run sits a brass and copper tin commemorating the Battle of Minden of 1759.

How old are these boxes usually?

Dealers file them broadly. Sixty-three listings say only 19th century, 28 say 18th century, and Georgian, Victorian and Edwardian labels add style rather than years. Where a clean year is given, and that is 47 listings out of 201, the run is 1800 to 1930, clustering in the 1890s, 1850s and 1900s. A few pieces reach further back, including a set of three seventeenth-century tobacco boxes.

Which are the highest-priced examples?

Gold snuff boxes. The top of the range is 18ct and 14ct work, with one Paris box recorded at 98 grams and two silver-gilt boxes weighed at 82.7g and 83g. Lead, pewter, tin and pottery pieces sit at the other end.

Do figural and novelty boxes turn up often?

They recur, though the oddest are one-offs: a japanned papier mâché horse's hoof, a copper and brass bellows, a fruitwood box carved as a wood plane, a hardwood football, and a hand holding a pinch of snuff. Black Forest carving is a steadier presence, with bears, owls, monkeys and dogs, joined by pottery and terracotta bulldog and dog-head jars. Carved figural pieces reach the upper part of the range.

Where do these boxes come from?

Dutch and English work makes up the steady run, with Continental brass and copper boxes forming a clear group of their own. Other origins are occasional: single Japanese, Scandinavian, Russian, Swiss, Middle Eastern, Anglo-Indian and African-American examples appear. Around 24 tobacco boxes come to market on Sellingantiques in a year, listed by 74 different dealers over time, so almost every dealer who handles them handles them singly.

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Antique Tobacco Boxes

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Small lidded containers made to hold tobacco in its various forms: powdered snuff for the pocket or table, cut leaf kept moist in a jar, and cigars shut away in a cabinet.

18th century

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Georgian Leather Snuff Box

From Digby Antiques (Wiltshire)

£175

FOR SALE

boxes

19th century

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A Superb and Early 19th Century Scottish Silver Mounted Horn Snuff Mull

From Gerard Robinson Fine Art and Antiques

£235

FOR SALE

boxes

Antique Victorian Burr Walnut Cigar Humidor / Collectors Cabinet C1870 19th C

19th century

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Antique Victorian Burr Walnut Cigar Humidor / Collectors Cabinet C1870 19th C

From Regent Antiques

£1,100

FOR SALE

boxes

An English Copper and Brass Bellows Novelty Snuff Box, Early 19 Century

19th century

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An English Copper and Brass Bellows Novelty Snuff Box, Early 19 Century

From Gerard Robinson Fine Art and Antiques

£375

FOR SALE

boxes

19th century

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Antique Carved Wood Snuff Box

From Gerard Robinson Fine Art and Antiques

£235

FOR SALE

boxes

Unique Ww1 Princess Mary 1914 Silver Mounted Christmas Tin

1920 - 1940

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Unique Ww1 Princess Mary 1914 Silver Mounted Christmas Tin

From Terrier Antiques at Hebden Bridge

£595

FOR SALE

boxes

1900 - 1920

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Edwardian Table Top Oak Cabinet

From Affordable Old Furniture

£250

FOR SALE

boxes

Antique Snuff Shoe - With Inlaid Diamonds, Brass Pique Work Foliage and Flowers

19th century

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Antique Snuff Shoe - With Inlaid Diamonds, Brass Pique Work Foliage and Flowers

From Opus Antiques

£125

FOR SALE

boxes

1900 - 1920

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Golden Oak Tambour Cigar Cabinet 1900

From Michael Johnson Antiques

£330

FOR SALE

boxes

A George 111 Gold Plated Engraved Oval Snuff Box

18th century

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A George 111 Gold Plated Engraved Oval Snuff Box

From Gill Coe Antiques & Interiors

£290

FOR SALE

boxes

Gold and silver-gilt boxes carry the weight on Sellingantiques: one Paris gold snuff box is recorded at 98 grams, with two silver-gilt boxes near 83 grams.

A Middle Eastern Hardwood Snuff Box Highly Decorated

1900 - 1920

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A Middle Eastern Hardwood Snuff Box Highly Decorated

From Gerard Robinson Fine Art and Antiques

£245

FOR SALE

boxes

A Small Superb and Delightful Waistcoat Pocket Oval Snuff Box

1900 - 1920

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A Small Superb and Delightful Waistcoat Pocket Oval Snuff Box

From Gerard Robinson Fine Art and Antiques

£325

FOR SALE

boxes

Antique 19thc Birch Tortoiseshell Snuff Box C1860

19th century

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Antique 19thc Birch Tortoiseshell Snuff Box C1860

From Aramis Antiques

£175

FOR SALE

boxes

19th century

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Early 19th Century Turtle Shell and Silver Mounted Table Snuff Box

From Mark Jones Antiques

£950

FOR SALE

boxes

Dome Shaped Hand Painted Papier Mache Snuff Box

19th century

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Dome Shaped Hand Painted Papier Mache Snuff Box

From Gerard Robinson Fine Art and Antiques

£245

FOR SALE

boxes

Anglo-indian Desktop Smokers Cabinet,c1880

19th century

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Anglo-indian Desktop Smokers Cabinet,c1880

From Curious Antiques

£175

FOR SALE

boxes

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Antique Tobacco Boxes

Georgian Leather Snuff Box

A Superb and Early 19th Century Scottish Silver Mounted Horn Snuff Mull

Antique Victorian Burr Walnut Cigar Humidor / Collectors Cabinet C1870 19th C

An English Copper and Brass Bellows Novelty Snuff Box, Early 19 Century

Antique Carved Wood Snuff Box

Unique Ww1 Princess Mary 1914 Silver Mounted Christmas Tin

Edwardian Table Top Oak Cabinet

Antique Snuff Shoe - With Inlaid Diamonds, Brass Pique Work Foliage and Flowers

Golden Oak Tambour Cigar Cabinet 1900

A George 111 Gold Plated Engraved Oval Snuff Box

A Middle Eastern Hardwood Snuff Box Highly Decorated

A Small Superb and Delightful Waistcoat Pocket Oval Snuff Box

Antique 19thc Birch Tortoiseshell Snuff Box C1860

Early 19th Century Turtle Shell and Silver Mounted Table Snuff Box

Dome Shaped Hand Painted Papier Mache Snuff Box

Anglo-indian Desktop Smokers Cabinet,c1880

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