Vintage Silver Cigar Box
A vintage silver cigar box is a sturdy receptacle designed to protect tobacco, most often encountered in sterling silver or oak combined with silver mounts.
Vintage Silver Cigar Box
A vintage silver cigar box provides a dedicated enclosure for storing cigars, cigarettes, or cheroots while keeping them secure on a desk or table. When searching for a vintage silver cigar box, a buyer encounters forms ranging from straightforward rectangular caskets to larger table boxes and smoking compendiums.
The versions most likely to meet a buyer on this page span the Victorian era, Edwardian period, and the 1920s through to the 1940s. Makers produced these pieces in solid sterling silver, silver plate, and mixed materials like oak or crocodile leather.
Examples also appear with specific regional characteristics, including Chinese Export pieces and French Modernist designs. These objects served a functional role in smoking culture before transitioning into purely decorative items for modern interiors.
Materials and construction methods
Silversmiths utilised sterling silver and solid silver for the primary body or exterior mounts of these boxes, often applying silver gilt to the interior surfaces. Many pieces combine metalwork with organic materials, pairing sterling silver mounts with wooden carcases made from oak or incorporating panels of crocodile skin leather and shagreen.
Constructing a functional box required precise joinery to ensure the lid closed securely against the base, protecting the contents from air and moisture. Silversmiths hammered, cast, and engraved the metal components, applying techniques such as repoussé for decorative motifs like twin dragons or geometric Art Deco patterns.
One exceptional smoking compendium takes the unusual physical shape of a fire carriage.
Assessing quality in construction and design
Quality in a vintage silver cigar box depends heavily on the weight of the metal and the integrity of the internal lining, which is often cedar or wood. Thicker gauges of sterling silver provide a more substantial feel and resist denting better than thinner silverplate or light gauge alternatives.
The distinction between standard commercial production and superior craftsmanship rests in the detailing of the hinges, mounts, and surface ornamentation. Pieces designed by notable silversmiths or produced by established firms typically display crisper engraving, tighter fitting lids, and more ambitious stylistic execution.
Mappin & Webb·Sigvard Bernadotte for Georg Jensen·Wang Hing & Co·Crevillen·Goldsmiths and Silversmiths Co
The Vintage Silver Cigar Box Glossary
- Sterling silver
- A silver alloy containing 92.5 percent pure silver and 7.5 percent other metals, usually copper, chosen for durability. This standard is marked by traditional hallmarks on British pieces.
- Silver plate
- A base metal object coated with a thin layer of silver through electroplating or older fusion methods. It offers the appearance of solid silver at a different weight and cost.
- Humidor
- A moisture-controlled box or room designed to keep cigars fresh. In antique terms, this usually refers to a cedar-lined wooden box with metal mounts.
- Silver gilt
- Sterling silver that has been coated with a thin layer of gold on the surface. This technique protects the interior metal from tobacco oils and tarnishing.
- Smoking compendium
- A desk or table accessory set that combines a cigar or cigarette box with related smoking paraphernalia such as matches, ash receptacles, or cigar cutters.
Vintage Silver Cigar Box: Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between a cigar box and a cigarette box?
Cigar boxes are generally larger and deeper to accommodate the dimensions of cigars, while cigarette boxes are shallower and often feature internal dividers for stacked cigarettes.
Despite these traditional size differences, makers and users frequently applied the terms interchangeably in historical listings and descriptions.
How do I clean a vintage silver cigar box?
Cleaning requires a soft microfibre cloth and a mild silver polish formulated specifically for antique metals to preserve the details of any engraving or hallmarks.
Harsh chemical dips should be avoided, particularly on pieces that combine silver with wood, leather, or fabric linings that could be damaged by moisture.
Are these boxes still suitable for storing cigars?
Many of these boxes retain their original wood interiors, often cedar, which helps maintain humidity for tobacco storage.
However, collectors frequently use them as decorative display items or for trinkets rather than daily tobacco storage due to the age of the seals and hinges.
How do I identify the date of a silver box?
Dating relies primarily on official hallmarks stamped into the metal, which include symbols for the assay office, the maker's mark, and a date letter.
Where hallmarks are absent or the piece is silver plated, style indicators such as Art Deco geometric lines or Victorian ornamentation provide a general period.