You’ll never believe what I found today on ebay!

I have that lightning-strike of a reaction from time to time, since I sometimes like to cruise ebay on my laptop while smoking a cigar on the patio (viva wi-fi!). I like history, and looking for historical or vintage items. So I search for the same stuff from time to time: sixties-era Slingerland drums, collectibles that reference my vacation spot in New England, and vintage Donatus-style cigar cutters. Occasionally I find some gems, so I decided to just type in “vintage cigar” and see what came up…“Results found for ‘vintage cigar’ – 8,246”

Cool! Let’s start digging.

Vintage Cigar Boxes

There are tons of them. Of course, because I’m searching “vintage cigar,” a 1901 box for a brand called Famous Lark comes up right after Rocky Patel Vintage Series 1990 and Alec Bradley American. All good finds, but I kept digging for something interesting. And since I’m also a Ford guy (sorry Chevy dudes), this one caught my eye. It’s the box for “Ford Cigars.” What’s interesting, though, is that it’s not very likely at all that this had anything to do with Ford Motor Company; it sure looks like the Ford script, but trademarks were used and abused all the time in the early 20th century – and FoMoCo’s was just another to rip off and make a few dollars. This one was going for $90.

Vintage Cigar Humidors

A lot of these up for auction, too – and what was cool about old humidors was these were actually pieces of furniture, as opposed to the tabletop box that’s so common today.

I found an interesting smoking stand. It had a glass ashtray on top, and was a little smaller than an end table. Think about the size of the telephone table Nana had in her foyer back in the day, and you’ll be in the ballpark. For $95 plus shipping, you keep your cigars in the body of the cabinet and ash up top. I like! The copper kept mold from growing, and the humidification element was usually made out of clay. Neat piece.

Vintage Cigar Cutters

There’s a million of these, too. But check this out – it’s a shoe!

I thought for a minute it was some weird Monopoly piece. But for a mere $135(!),
grab something neat for your key ring. Though that would be the second most-expensive thing on your key ring, next to your car key.

Find of the YEAR

I don’t have room for this at my house, and bringing this home would probably result in divorce anyway. But in the cigar lounge that exists in my head, I would have one of these:

What!?! My own cigar vending machine? The one I found was never used – it even came in the original box. The seller said, “These machines look so great at night with the light on.” I believe it. It’s ‘50s vintage – and while I don’t know how the cigars would keep inside, I wouldn’t mind giving it a try.

It’s interesting to see where our hobby came from by browsing through vintage cigar memorabilia. Thanks, ebay!