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Snuff Boxes and Tobacco Boxes For Sale
Aldo Tura, Pipe Shaped Parchment Tobacco Box, Macabo Italy 1950s
Located in Firenze, IT
Pipe shaped parchment and brass tobacco box designed by Aldo Tura Macabo Italy 1950s The box has two compartments, one for storing tobacco and anoth...
Category

1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Snuff Boxes and Tobacco Boxes

Materials

Brass

Mahogany Wood Tobacco Box with Golden and Blue Brass Lid, 1970
Located in Palermo, Sicily
Mahogany wood tobacco box with golden and blue brass lid, 1970.
Category

1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Snuff Boxes and Tobacco Boxes

Materials

Brass

18th Century Snuff Box With Secret Erotic Motive
Located in Copenhagen, K
Very funny little snuff box with a text about Etimologie; the true learning or real learning, on the lids outside and a hidden erotic motive on the inside of the lid.
Category

Late 18th Century French Empire Antique Snuff Boxes and Tobacco Boxes

Materials

Wood, Paper

Small Ebonised Snuff Box With Painted Cricket Scene
Located in Oxfordshire, GB
Ebonised Papier Mache Cricket Snuff Box. An early Victorian black lacquered rectangle Papier-mâché snuff box with rounded corners and with a hinged lid with hand painted cricket scen...
Category

19th Century Sporting Art Antique Snuff Boxes and Tobacco Boxes

Materials

Paper

RUSSIAN 1860 Antique Pietra Dura Dog Gold Oval Pill Box In Solid 14Kt Yellow
Located in Miami, FL
Antique gold box with Pietra-Dura panel. This is a beautiful antique oval box created in Russia back in the 1860. The box has been crafted in solid yellow gold of 14 karats (56 zolo...
Category

1860s Russian Early Victorian Antique Snuff Boxes and Tobacco Boxes

Materials

Multi-gemstone, Gold

Snuff Box round in Art Nouveau style Sterling Silver Salimbeni
Located in Firenze, FI
Round snuff box in 925/1000 sterling silver gold plated with translucent fired enamels on guillochè and hand-painted floral miniature, surrounded by a frame with leaves on a blue bac...
Category

1970s Italian Art Nouveau Vintage Snuff Boxes and Tobacco Boxes

Materials

Sterling Silver, Enamel

Lovely Silver and Horn Snuff or Trinket Boxes
Located in Palm Springs, CA
A nice pair of horn of silver snuff or trinket boxes. One is hallmarked with English Sterling hallmarks the other I believe is silverplate. I cannot quite make out the date code but ...
Category

1910s British Vintage Snuff Boxes and Tobacco Boxes

Materials

Silver

Tobacco box with forest animals, 1910s.
Located in Lisboa, PT
Covered porcelain jar, covered pot, with canted sides, glazed with a relief decoration of brown foliage on a white background, revealing a dog, a cat, a donkey, and a smoking monkey ...
Category

1910s French Vintage Snuff Boxes and Tobacco Boxes

Materials

Porcelain

Snuff Box Perforated Lid, Embossed and Engraved Miniature Salimbeni
Located in Firenze, FI
Square snuff box in 925/1000 sterling silver gold plated with perforated lid, embossed and engraved by hand, with fine round miniature diameter cm. 3.8 hand painted in tempera on veg...
Category

1970s Italian Renaissance Vintage Snuff Boxes and Tobacco Boxes

Materials

Sterling Silver, Enamel

Snuff Box races miniature fire-enameled guilloche and engraved drawing Salimbeni
Located in Firenze, FI
Octagonal table snuffbox in 925/1000 sterling silver gold plated with black fired enamel inserted in a hand engraved drawing and with fired enamelled miniature, hand painted by the p...
Category

1970s Italian Art Nouveau Vintage Snuff Boxes and Tobacco Boxes

Materials

Gold, Enamel, Sterling Silver, Gold Plate

Antique 19th Century Victorian Silver Mounted Ram’s Head Snuff Mull c.1874
Located in Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent
Antique 19th Century Victorian silver mounted ram’s head snuff mull, the head is fitted with a silver compartment for snuff, chased with thistles and centred by a facetted oval cryst...
Category

1870s British Victorian Antique Snuff Boxes and Tobacco Boxes

Materials

Silver

Silver and Shibayama tobacco box with combination vesta case lid
Located in London, GB
A very fine and rare silver shibayama tobacco and combination vesta case lid and strikers on pot. Decorated with individual hand crafted insects in semi precious stones. The Shiba...
Category

1910s English Vintage Snuff Boxes and Tobacco Boxes

Materials

Silver

Set of Austrian Tobacco Jar and Cigar box
Located in Vienna, AT
A set of beautiful tobacco boxes made in Austria. Made i.n the Art Nouveau/Art Deco period. The measurements are: Depth: 14.5 cm - Width: 21 cm - Height: 6.5 cm Depth: 12.5 cm - ...
Category

20th Century Austrian Art Nouveau Snuff Boxes and Tobacco Boxes

Materials

Stone

Italian Cigarettes Tobacco Box Art Deco 1930 with Inlays of Fine Sorrento Woods
Located in Palermo, Sicily
Italian cigarettes tobacco box Art Deco 1930 with inlays of fine Sorrento woods . With the flap that once opened shows all the matchstick cigarettes, ...
Category

1930s Italian Art Deco Vintage Snuff Boxes and Tobacco Boxes

Materials

Wood

Silver tobacco box with guilloche floral motifs, gold interior and hinged lid
Located in Porto, PT
Description: Silver tobacco box with guilloche floral motifs, gold interior and hinged lid. Metal: Silver. Origin: German. Brand: Unknown. Weight: 59.37 grams. Dimensions: 8cmx5cm. C...
Category

20th Century European Snuff Boxes and Tobacco Boxes

Materials

Silver

Empire French Pressed Wood Snuff Box, Early 19th Century
Located in Spencertown, NY
The circular lidded box depicting a woman reclining on a Recamier playing the harp. The underside with a star surrounded by banding with stippling decoration.
Category

Early 19th Century French Empire Antique Snuff Boxes and Tobacco Boxes

Materials

Wood

Antique English Sterling Silver Agate Snuff Box by Hilliard Thomason - 1902
Located in Bath, GB
A spectacular example of a solid silver snuff box inset with two agate stone panels to top and bottom, both in beautiful undamaged condition with a bright polished patina. The box h...
Category

Early 1900s British Edwardian Antique Snuff Boxes and Tobacco Boxes

Materials

Agate, Sterling Silver

British Sterling Silver Art Deco Engraved Cigarette Case By Harman Bros. 1931
Located in Reading, Berkshire
Elegant Art Deco Sterling Silver Engraved Cigarette Case By Renowned British SilverSmiths Harman Bros. Birmingham 1931. Weight 129grams Hallma...
Category

Early 20th Century British Art Deco Snuff Boxes and Tobacco Boxes

Materials

Silver

Tobacco box in rosewood with silver applications
Located in Porto, PT
Description: Tobacco box in rosewood with silver applications featuring bows, puttis holding wreaths and medallions with ancient ladies in relief in perfect shape. Metal: Silver. Ori...
Category

19th Century European Antique Snuff Boxes and Tobacco Boxes

Materials

Silver

Silver snuff box with coat-of-arms engraving and hinged lid
Located in Porto, PT
Description: Silver snuff box with engraving involving a coat of arms for monogram and a hinged lid. Metal: Silver. Origin: European. Brand: Absent. Weight: 63.17 grams. Dimensions: ...
Category

20th Century European Snuff Boxes and Tobacco Boxes

Materials

Silver

Silver toiletry box with mirror inside, tobacco container and utility chain
Located in Porto, PT
Description: Silver toiletry box with mirror inside, tobacco container and utility chain. Metal: Silver. Origin: Switzerland. Brand: Walking Bear. Weight: 112.10 grams. Dimensions: 8...
Category

19th Century European Antique Snuff Boxes and Tobacco Boxes

Materials

Silver

Set of 3 Victorian Snuff or Trinket Boxes Brass with Agate
Located in Palm Springs, CA
3 beautiful antique Victorian snuff or trinket boxes with gilt metal or brass sides and banded or moss agate tops and bottoms. They have some beautiful coloring. The metal is not m...
Category

19th Century British Antique Snuff Boxes and Tobacco Boxes

Materials

Agate, Brass

Snuffbox with Flowers miniature Art Nouveau style Sterling Silver Salimbeni.
Located in Firenze, FI
Rectangular table snuffbox in 925/1000 sterling silver gold plated with translucent enamels fired on guilloche and hand-painted floral miniature; external blue staff. Art Nouveau sty...
Category

1970s Italian Art Nouveau Vintage Snuff Boxes and Tobacco Boxes

Materials

Gold, Gold Plate, Sterling Silver, Enamel

Antique Chinese Snuff Bottle Lapis Lazuli Gemstone Carved Late Qing Dynasty Blue
Located in Palm Beach, FL
A rare carved antique Chinese lapis lazuli stone snuff bottle of the late Qing Dynasty. Finely carved from a solid piece of genuine lapis lazuli exhibiting rich and vibrant blue tone...
Category

Early 1900s Chinese Qing Antique Snuff Boxes and Tobacco Boxes

Materials

Lapis Lazuli

Art Deco Sterling Silver Overlaid Black Glass Cigarette Box w/ Sailboat Motif
Located in Chapel Hill, NC
Art Deco black glass table box in two pieces with sterling silver overlaid sailboat design on the lid.
Category

Early 20th Century American Art Deco Snuff Boxes and Tobacco Boxes

Materials

Sterling Silver

Antique Sterling Silver Vinaigrette by Samuel Pemberton
Located in Jesmond, Newcastle Upon Tyne
An exceptional, fine and impressive antique George III English sterling silver vinaigrette made by Samuel Pemberton; an addition to our silver boxes collection This antique Georgian vinaigrette...
Category

Early 1800s British George III Antique Snuff Boxes and Tobacco Boxes

Materials

Sterling Silver

Snuffbox with English Queen Anne style Sterling Silver Salimbeni
Located in Firenze, FI
Octagonal snuff box in gilded 925/1000 silver with English Queen Anne style borders and sides with fired enamels painted like lapis lazuli stone. On the lid, a very fine fire-enamell...
Category

1980s Italian Queen Anne Vintage Snuff Boxes and Tobacco Boxes

Materials

Gold, Gold Plate, Sterling Silver, Enamel

Petite Chinese Opium Box, c. 1850
Located in Chicago, IL
A petite 19th century canister once used to store a smoker's personal supply of opium paste. A keepsake from a bygone era, the small box is formed of brass and provided an airtight s...
Category

19th Century Chinese Qing Antique Snuff Boxes and Tobacco Boxes

Materials

Brass

19th Century Victorian Sterling Silver Boar Vesta Box
Located in Jesmond, Newcastle Upon Tyne
A magnificent, fine and impressive, rare antique Victorian English sterling silver vesta box modelled in the form of a boar; an addition to our ornamental silverware collection This magnificent antique Victorian cast sterling silver vesta box has been realistically modelled in the form of a boar. This impressive antique vesta case is embellished with details replicating the features of the boar's coat of fur and anatomical features. The back of the boar incorporates a hallmarked hinged cover which opens to reveal the serrated panel/match striker. The secondary hallmarked hinged panel opens to reveal the original gilt interior; this is faciliated with a thumbpiece modelled in the form of the boar's tail. Such magnificent period examples are rare and becoming increasingly difficult to locate. Condition This antique Victorian vesta box is an exceptional gauge of silver, exceptional quality and in exceptional condition. Full hallmarks struck to the underside of the body, in addition to part hallmarks to the interior of each hinged cover are very clear; the hallmarks are struck deeply due to the exceptional gauge of silver. Reflections in photographs may detract from the true representation of this antique vesta box...
Category

1880s English Victorian Antique Snuff Boxes and Tobacco Boxes

Materials

Sterling Silver

Vintage HERMES Cornucopia Metal and Leather Cigarette Box
Located in Victoria, BC
Here is a handsome and classic 1950s vintage Hermès cigarette box. Cigarette box is heavy and wrapped in leather. Cornucopia (Horn of Plenty) deco...
Category

1950s French Vintage Snuff Boxes and Tobacco Boxes

Materials

Metal

Antique Multicolor Horn Oval Snuff Box
Located in Chapel Hill, NC
Oval Snuff Box, c. 1860, of multicolored horn. Fine condition. 3" l., 2 1/8" d., 3/4" h. This item includes restricted materials and cannot be sold outside of the contiguous United S...
Category

Mid-19th Century Victorian Antique Snuff Boxes and Tobacco Boxes

Materials

Horn

18th Century Chinese Beijing enamel snuff box
Located in Basildon, GB
An 18th Century Chinese Beijing enamel snuff box finely painted to the lid and sides with typical Chinese scenes, the base painted with a leafy gourd. The lid is mounted in gilt bron...
Category

18th Century Chinese Qing Antique Snuff Boxes and Tobacco Boxes

Materials

Bronze, Enamel

Antique Tortoiseshell Singing Bird Box, Most Probably by Bontems
Located in London, GB
A antique tortoiseshell singing bird box, most probably by Bontems, Going barrel movement, Gilt metal two-tone brilliance... When wound and start/stop slide moved to the right, the bird pops up through foliate chased gilt grille, then proceeds to move bone beak, wings and body from side-to-side to good complex continuous synchronized birdsong. The bird with streaked feathered plumage in brown, yellow, turquoise and red, lime green and purple iridescent highlights, highly polished lid interior for full bird reflection, in plain polished tortoiseshell case, twinned laurel leaf engraved bird lid border with the bird lid engraved with love birds and rose united beneath leaf swag arch, accentuated with gilt on silvered ground, hidden key...
Category

1880s French Antique Snuff Boxes and Tobacco Boxes

Materials

Tortoise Shell

English Leather and Tin Tobacco Caddy
By Frederic Hewitt
Located in Greenwich, CT
An English 19th century tobacco caddy of tin covered in stitched shagreen, of oblong hexagonal form with a lid surmounted by a silver whippet, retaining ...
Category

Mid-19th Century English Early Victorian Antique Snuff Boxes and Tobacco Boxes

Materials

Brass

Old African Hand Carved Wooden Box 19th Century Brown Color Powder Box
Located in Auribeau sur Siagne, FR
Old African Hand Carved Wooden Box 19th Century Brown Color Powder Box Powder box- jelwery Box.
Category

19th Century African Antique Snuff Boxes and Tobacco Boxes

Materials

Metal

Italian Goatskin Wrapped Parchment and Teak Humidor by Aldo Tura
Located in San Diego, CA
Rare and beautiful Italian goatskin wrapped lacquered parchment humidor with locking teak and brass lid by Aldo Tura, circa 1960s. The piece is in very good vintage condition and me...
Category

Mid-20th Century Italian Hollywood Regency Snuff Boxes and Tobacco Boxes

Materials

Goatskin, Teak

Composition tortoiseshell and gilt metal singing bird box
Located in London, GB
A good antique composition tortoiseshell and gilt metal singing bird box, German circa 1900 Going-barrel movement Setting the birds free... When wound and the sta...
Category

Early 1900s Antique Snuff Boxes and Tobacco Boxes

Materials

Tortoise Shell

Antique Chinese Export Silver Cigarette Case
Located in Jesmond, Newcastle Upon Tyne
A fine and impressive antique Chinese Export Silver cigarette / card case; part of our diverse Asian silverware collection. This fine antique Chinese Export Silver (CES) cigarette/card case has a plain rectangular form with rounded corners. The anterior cover is embellished with an embossed and chased decorated iconic Chinese dragon design amidst clouds, on a matte background, incorporating a shield shaped vacant cartouche. The posterior cover is ornamented with traditional embossed and chased plum blossom foliate and floral decoration, also on a matte background. The rounded sides of this antique silver cigarette case...
Category

Early 1900s Chinese Antique Snuff Boxes and Tobacco Boxes

Materials

Silver

Mid Century 5" Hammered Copper Tin Lined Humidor by Revere Rome N.Y
Located in Van Nuys, CA
Art Deco era humidor features a hand-hammered copper exterior, giving it a distinctive appearance with a textured surface. Inside. It includes a pull air-tight lid and is signed Reve...
Category

1950s American Vintage Snuff Boxes and Tobacco Boxes

Materials

Copper

Art Deco porcelain monkey tabacco box
Located in Buenos Aires, Argentina
Art Deco porcelain monkey tabacco box Hand-glazed and hand-painted, created by Edouard-Marcel Sandoz and manufactured by Theodore Haviland By: Edouard-Marcel Sandoz, Theodore Havila...
Category

1920s French Art Deco Vintage Snuff Boxes and Tobacco Boxes

Materials

Enamel

Relief silver tobacco box with caravel, shields rope border
Located in Porto, PT
Description: Tobacco box. Metal: Silver. Origin: Portuguese. Mark: standing eagle. Weight: 687.39 grams. Dimensions: 16x5cm. Content: 833/1000. Assay Mark: Yes, between 1938 and 1984...
Category

20th Century European Snuff Boxes and Tobacco Boxes

Materials

Silver

Silver snuff box with reliefs printed with shells and scrolls, removable lid
Located in Porto, PT
Description: Silver snuff box with reliefs printed with shells and scrolls, removable lid. Metal: Silver. Origin: English. Brand: Birmingham. Weight: 87.95 grams. Dimensions: 13x2.5c...
Category

20th Century European Snuff Boxes and Tobacco Boxes

Materials

Silver

Silver snuff box with engraved monogram lid, garlands and flowers
Located in Porto, PT
Description: Silver snuff box with engravings surrounding a monogram card on the hinged lid with wreaths and flowers. Metal: Silver. Origin: English. Mark: Unreadable. Weight: 76.06 ...
Category

20th Century European Snuff Boxes and Tobacco Boxes

Materials

Silver

Eichwald Majolica Tobacco Jar with Roosters Pecking the Ground, circa 1870
Located in Atlanta, GA
An Austrian Eichwald majolica humidor tobacco jar from the late 19th century, with petite roosters pecking the ground. Created in Austria during the ...
Category

Late 19th Century Austrian Antique Snuff Boxes and Tobacco Boxes

Materials

Majolica, Pottery

Reed Barton Sterling Silver Cigar Box with Hound Dog Finial
Located in New York, NY
Modern sterling silver cigar box. Made by Reed & Barton in Taunton, Massachusetts, ca 1920. Rectangular with straight sides. Cover hinged with molded rim; on top, cast figural finial...
Category

Early 20th Century American Modern Snuff Boxes and Tobacco Boxes

Materials

Sterling Silver

Micromosaic Gold Mounted Jasper Snuff Box Early 19th Century Italian Gioacchino
Located in Benington, Herts
An Exceptional and Highly Important Micromosaic Gold Mounted Jasper Snuff Box, most probably by Gioacchino Barberi with the box likely by Moulinié, ...
Category

Early 19th Century Italian Antique Snuff Boxes and Tobacco Boxes

Materials

Gold

Antique Brown Leather Snuffbox Boot Shape
Located in Munich, DE
This highly unusual and rare snuffbox has been handcrafted out of leather in the last quarter of the 19th century. It has been much loved and used, but the lid still closes tightly.
Category

1890s Antique Snuff Boxes and Tobacco Boxes

Materials

Leather

1950s Staved Teak Humidor by ESA Denmark
By ESA
Located in Chula Vista, CA
1950s ESA High quality tobacco humidor made of staved teak wood. It provides a sufficiently humid microclimate. Aesthetically pleasing design with a spring-loaded screw lid. Ideal...
Category

1950s Danish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Snuff Boxes and Tobacco Boxes

Materials

Teak

Chinese Export Porcelain Famille Rose Snuff Box- European subjects
Located in Downingtown, PA
East Meets West: Rare Chinese Export "European Subject" Porcelain Snuff Box Circa 1750–1760 A superb mid-18th century Chinese Export porcelain snuff box, finely painted in famille rose and puce enamels, featuring rare "European Subject" decoration. The rectangular box, after a European silver form, features a slightly domed cover and is fitted with its contemporary chased gilt-metal (ormolu) mounts and hinge. The exterior walls are painted with a continuous frieze of European figures—gentlemen in 18th-century frock coats...
Category

Mid-18th Century Chinese Export Antique Snuff Boxes and Tobacco Boxes

Materials

Porcelain

English 19th century desk snuff box circa 1840
Located in Central England, GB
This masterfully engineered and very complicated English ebony engine turned table snuff box dates to the mid 19th century. It has been hand machined from solid ebony with multiple ...
Category

Mid-19th Century Victorian Antique Snuff Boxes and Tobacco Boxes

Materials

Wood

Etched Chinese Opium Box, c. 1850
Located in Chicago, IL
A small brass canister once used to store a smoker's personal supply of opium paste. A keepsake from a bygone era, the small box dates to the 19th century and is decorated with etchi...
Category

19th Century Chinese Qing Antique Snuff Boxes and Tobacco Boxes

Materials

Brass, Copper

Early 19th Century Papier-Mâché Snuff Box with Silver Inlay, c.1820
Located in Worcester, GB
Early 19th Century Papier-Mâché Snuff Box with Silver Inlay, c.1820 A small and decorative early 19th-century snuff box in lacquered papier-mâché, the shaped lid finely inlaid with ...
Category

Early 19th Century British Antique Snuff Boxes and Tobacco Boxes

Materials

Silver

19th Century French Porcelain and Brass Trinket Box with Flower Decorations
Located in Marbella, ES
19th century French porcelain and brass trinket box with flower decorations.
Category

Mid-18th Century French Antique Snuff Boxes and Tobacco Boxes

Materials

Porcelain

Danish Early 19th Century Empire Tobacco Box
Located in Kastrup, DK
A charming mahogany tobacco box in an architecturally intriguing form. The top of the lid is adorned with a small knob of bone. Great quality and craftsmanship. Empire. Denmark, ...
Category

Early 19th Century Danish Empire Antique Snuff Boxes and Tobacco Boxes

Materials

Bone, Mahogany

Vintage mahogany handcrafted cigar humidor
Located in Allentown, PA
This is a vintage handcrafted cigar humidor. This humidor has beautiful brass handles on either side with a beautiful brass escutcheon at the front covering the keyhole. This box is ...
Category

Early 2000s Snuff Boxes and Tobacco Boxes

Materials

Mahogany

Italian Grand Tour Style, Pietra Dura Leather Humidor Or Vanity Box
Located in Atlanta, GA
This exceptional humidor or vanity box is a masterwork of craftsmanship, designed in the exquisite style of the Italian Grand Tour, a period of cultural exploration and refinement th...
Category

Early 20th Century Italian Grand Tour Snuff Boxes and Tobacco Boxes

Materials

Agate, Malachite, Onyx, Marble, Slate

French Sapphire and Enamel Cigarette Case
Located in New Orleans, LA
This French gold cigarette case is a splendid specimen of early 20th century style and refinement. The 18-karat yellow gold accessory is surrounded by exquisite "pinstripe" white enameling with a line of channel-set blue sapphires running along the façade and thumb press. Smoking accessories...
Category

Early 20th Century French Other Snuff Boxes and Tobacco Boxes

Materials

Multi-gemstone, Gold, Enamel

Chinese Copper Coin Opium Box, c. 1900
Located in Chicago, IL
A petite 19th century canister once used to store a smoker's personal supply of opium paste. A keepsake from a bygone era, the small box is formed of antique coins and copper and pro...
Category

Late 19th Century Chinese Qing Antique Snuff Boxes and Tobacco Boxes

Materials

Copper

3 Antique Victorian Snuff or Trinket Boxes with Banded and Moss Agate
Located in Palm Springs, CA
A nice group of three antique Victorian snuff or trinket boxes with metal sides and banded or moss agate tops and bottoms. I’m not quite sure what the smallest one is made of. It has...
Category

19th Century English Antique Snuff Boxes and Tobacco Boxes

Materials

Agate, Metal

Snuff Box reproducing the painting of a Roman glimpse late 1800s Salimbeni
Located in Firenze, FI
Snuffbox Rectangular for table with rounded corners in sterling silver 925/1000 gold plated with very fine fire-enamelled miniature hand-painted by the painter Renato Dainelli repro...
Category

1990s Italian Baroque Snuff Boxes and Tobacco Boxes

Materials

Sterling Silver, Gold Plate, Enamel

Antique Snuffboxes for Sale on 1stDibs

Today antique snuffboxes and tobacco boxes — as well as a lot of other vintage tobacco accessories — are collectibles and charming pieces of decor for any display case or to elevate your bookshelves.

Snuff, made of ground tobacco, was especially popular with Europeans in the 1600s. The ornate boxes to keep the powder dry became highly decorative by the 18th century. It was considered a must-have item, particularly for nobility.

The most important feature of a snuffbox was that it was airtight. The box protected the snuff from oxygen. Another crucial component was the flat lid.

Snuffboxes could be small enough to fit into a pocket or a larger container for communal use at the table. They also came in different shapes. Porcelain containers were prevalent and often designed to look like trunks. Others were oval or square. Boxes made with cowrie shells were rare and more expensive.

Snuffboxes were usually crafted from silver, gold, horn or tortoiseshell. Some of the most prestigious snuffboxes were French tabatières made of gold and sometimes glass. They could be adorned with amethysts, sapphires and diamonds and enameled, engraved or chased.

Sheffield, England, was known for its silver snuffboxes in the late 18th century as its silver-plating technologies perfected these containers. By the early 19th century, the silver industry in Birmingham, England, was producing elegant snuffboxes with images of abbeys and castles on the sides and top.

Another type of tobacco box was the snuff mull or mill. It was made out of horn or an entire ram’s head and topped with a metal lid, frequently featuring engravings and decorative hinges. These were fashionable in Scotland during the 19th century. The origin of its name is unclear.

On 1stDibs, find a plentiful range of antique snuffboxes and tobacco boxes to complement any home decor or furniture style. You can browse the collection by style, which includes Victorian, Georgian and Art Deco, or by material to find pieces in silver and gold.