Collection of Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum

Our curators have highlighted 5 objects that are related to Cigarette Case, ca. 1930.

Platinum cigarette case made to look like an envelope. It is engraved in hand-written script with the name and address of Al Jolson, a singer/actor (1886-1950). A diamond thumbpiece opens the cigarette case.

Cigarette Case, ca. 1935
engine-turned silver and enamel.
Lent by Mr. and Mrs. Jeremiah Milbank III.
1.2017.1

A cigarette holder fabricated in colorful plastic with a streamlined body. The light green area used for the mouthpiece is rounded then progresses into a form with squarish corners for more than half of the body. The attached part has a small dark section, probably used as a filter for the smoke. It is attached to the remainder of the body having squarish sides, manufactured in tan plastic that expands slightly into the opening where a green plastic covers the corners at the tip. The photograph captures the cigarette holder against a light gray background.

Cigarette Holder, 1920s
plastic.
The Carolyn Hsu-Balcer Collection.
73.2016.5

Mystery Clock With Single Axle

Mystery Clock With Single Axle
gold, platinum, ebonite, citrine, diamonds, enamel.
Lent by Cartier Collection, Inv. CM 29 C21.
86.2016.5

A luxurious green emerald and pale sapphire blue Art Deco pendant highlighted by three larger emeralds, presented with the necklace curved into an outline resembling the letter 'C'. The strand of oval- and baroque-shaped cabochon sapphire beads alternate with carved and fluted emerald beads and diamond rondelles. The pendant is suspended from two diamond-set loops connected to two channel-set sapphire loops. The tiered pendant is composed of three graduated emeralds, a pavé-set diamond boule, and a sapphire bead; the top emerald is secured by three diamond prongs, the central elongated diamond/leaf-shaped emerald partly bordered with pavé-set diamonds and two sapphire-set prongs; and the larger hexagonal emerald at the bottom carved with a flower motif. The large gem is set within a diamond-set bezel and four arrow-shaped prongs with channel-set buff-top sapphires mounted in platinum. The 1920s and 30s was also a time during which European jewelers were inspired by vibrant color combinations from Persian and Indian collections. The emeralds Cartier incorporated into the piece were of Colombian origin, imported into India beginning in the late seventeenth century. With the color green came the complementary blue -- emeralds and sapphires which forged Cartier's favorite combination representing the colors of the peacock, an emblem ubiquitous in Indian art and the country's national bird. Art Deco ornamentation is evident in the sapphire-set arrow-shaped motifs as well as the diamond-set prongs.

Pendant Necklace, Timken, 1925
emeralds, sapphires, diamonds, platinum.
Lent by Pierre Chen, Taiwan.
8.2017.1

As the name of this textile design 'Party Ashtray' suggests the pattern is composed of white cigarettes with orange/red glowing tips emitting sinuous wisps of blue smoke. The elements, drawn in pastels on a black background, have the appearance of being rapidly sketched in chalk on a blackboard. They are rendered very simply and imprecisely - the cigarettes are cylindrical rectangles filled-in more or less with white lines to suggest a solid shape, the 'glowing' tips are orange elliptical discs sitting more or less at one end of the cigarettes, and the wisps of smoke are elongated S-shaped lines of varying thicknesses. The cigarettes are set in in diagonal positions and in different sizes filling up and animating the page. The curving blue lines of smoke meander through the design connecting the elements. Movement is also created by virtue of the stark contrast between the white rectangles, the red discs, the blue wavy lines and the black background. The design evokes the spirit of carefree times when smoking was fashionable and the ashtray was full (albeit in this instance, the cigarettes are not butts, but fully lit smokes.)

Drawing, Design for Textile: "Party Ashtray"
white, blue, and red-orange pastel on black wove paper .
Gift of Donald Deskey.
1975-11-20

This object is part of the Drawings, Prints, and Graphic Design collection.
There are 3 images of this object.