Cigar Boxes and Humidors
1890s French Rustic Antique Cigar Boxes and Humidors
Majolica, Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary French Cigar Boxes and Humidors
Nickel
1930s Scandinavian Art Deco Vintage Cigar Boxes and Humidors
Brass
Early 20th Century American Arts and Crafts Cigar Boxes and Humidors
Sterling Silver, Bronze
1930s Swedish Art Deco Vintage Cigar Boxes and Humidors
Iron
20th Century British Cigar Boxes and Humidors
Silver
1910s American Arts and Crafts Vintage Cigar Boxes and Humidors
Sterling Silver, Bronze
20th Century German Art Deco Cigar Boxes and Humidors
Brass
19th Century English High Victorian Antique Cigar Boxes and Humidors
Brass
17th Century English Baroque Antique Cigar Boxes and Humidors
Walnut
Early 20th Century American Arts and Crafts Cigar Boxes and Humidors
Sterling Silver, Bronze
1910s Italian Arts and Crafts Vintage Cigar Boxes and Humidors
Wood
1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Cigar Boxes and Humidors
Copper, Enamel
1910s English Art Deco Vintage Cigar Boxes and Humidors
Sterling Silver
Early 20th Century American Arts and Crafts Cigar Boxes and Humidors
Bronze
1970s Italian Empire Vintage Cigar Boxes and Humidors
Gold Plate, Sterling Silver, Enamel
2010s Italian Modern Cigar Boxes and Humidors
Metal
Mid-20th Century Cigar Boxes and Humidors
Fruitwood
Early 19th Century English Regency Antique Cigar Boxes and Humidors
Rosewood
20th Century Austrian Cigar Boxes and Humidors
Silver
2010s Italian Modern Cigar Boxes and Humidors
Metal
1970s Italian Modern Vintage Cigar Boxes and Humidors
Sterling Silver, Enamel
Early 20th Century Japanese Showa Cigar Boxes and Humidors
Wood
1970s Italian Art Deco Vintage Cigar Boxes and Humidors
Sterling Silver, Enamel
1880s English Aesthetic Movement Antique Cigar Boxes and Humidors
Walnut
Early 20th Century British Art Nouveau Cigar Boxes and Humidors
Metal
Mid-20th Century Cigar Boxes and Humidors
Mother-of-Pearl, Wood
Late 19th Century Swiss Black Forest Antique Cigar Boxes and Humidors
Walnut
Early 20th Century American Arts and Crafts Cigar Boxes and Humidors
Bronze, Sterling Silver
1910s English Art Nouveau Vintage Cigar Boxes and Humidors
Pewter
Early 20th Century American Arts and Crafts Cigar Boxes and Humidors
Sterling Silver, Bronze
1930s French Vintage Cigar Boxes and Humidors
Platinum
Early 19th Century American Primitive Antique Cigar Boxes and Humidors
Wood, Paint
1840s English Early Victorian Antique Cigar Boxes and Humidors
Sterling Silver
Early 20th Century American Arts and Crafts Cigar Boxes and Humidors
Silver, Copper
Mid-19th Century British Antique Cigar Boxes and Humidors
Glass, Oak
Late 19th Century Swiss Black Forest Antique Cigar Boxes and Humidors
Fruitwood
1970s Finnish Mid-Century Modern Vintage Cigar Boxes and Humidors
Silver
Late 19th Century English Antique Cigar Boxes and Humidors
Oak
19th Century English Victorian Antique Cigar Boxes and Humidors
Wood
Early 20th Century American Art Deco Cigar Boxes and Humidors
Silver, Sterling Silver
19th Century British Other Antique Cigar Boxes and Humidors
Silver
1810s English George III Antique Cigar Boxes and Humidors
Silver, Sterling Silver
1960s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Cigar Boxes and Humidors
Rosewood
1920s Swedish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Cigar Boxes and Humidors
Bronze
20th Century Italian Cigar Boxes and Humidors
Lapis Lazuli, Malachite, Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Cigar Boxes and Humidors
Cedar, Ebony
2010s English Minimalist Cigar Boxes and Humidors
Brass
1870s English Victorian Antique Cigar Boxes and Humidors
Sterling Silver
1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Cigar Boxes and Humidors
Metal
1910s Chinese Chinese Export Vintage Cigar Boxes and Humidors
Silver
1920s English Vintage Cigar Boxes and Humidors
Silver, Sterling Silver
1920s American Art Deco Vintage Cigar Boxes and Humidors
Silver, Sterling Silver
Late 19th Century Antique Cigar Boxes and Humidors
Pottery
1840s English Victorian Antique Cigar Boxes and Humidors
Sterling Silver
21st Century and Contemporary American Cigar Boxes and Humidors
Wood
20th Century British Cigar Boxes and Humidors
Silver
20th Century English Cigar Boxes and Humidors
Pewter
Antique Cigar Boxes and Humidors
Cigars were not always packaged in what we now know as the antique cigar boxes and humidors that have over time become eye-catching decorative objects as well as collector’s items.
Outside the United States, cigar boxes are said to have originated in the 1840s when a German businessman, Hermann Dietrich Upmann of H. Upmann Cigars, bought a cigar factory and opened a bank in Havana, Cuba. Upmann reportedly handed out cedar cigar boxes branded with advertising for the bank as gifts to his banking clients. In the early 1860s, after years of cigars being shipped in big crates or barrels, cigar boxes became a requirement when the United States passed a law that mandated the use of boxes for tobacco producers, which was part of a broader effort to regulate the tobacco industry and generate revenue for the war effort. Humidors, which are moisture-controlled storage boxes that allow a cigar enthusiast to store, organize and preserve a larger collection of cigars, were very popular accessories during the early 1900s onward.
As the use of cigar boxes and humidors became widespread, all kinds of options materialized over the years, with particularly vibrant editions of these decorative objects emerging during the Art Nouveau, mid-century modern and other eras. Visionary designers like Isamu Noguchi popularized the idea of tobacco accessories as art with projects such as his decorative ashtrays.
Today, not unlike antique and vintage ashtrays, cigar boxes are more than practical objects. In fact, there are many uses for an old cigar box even after the cigars are gone. They can be used as planters, tissue boxes or can support your long-delayed effort to organize your sewing and craft supplies. During the Great Depression, an emptied cigar box — perhaps a walnut Art Deco-style cigar box with inlays in bronze and hand-carved decorative geometric patterns adorning its exterior — was occasionally repurposed as a jewelry box.
Antique and vintage cigar boxes — made of wood, metal or other materials — are valuable treasures in some corners of the collecting world, and in your home, they’re exquisite desk ornaments and colorful flourishes to add to your bookcase or mantel. On 1stDibs, find a variety of antique and vintage cigar boxes and other decorative boxes today.