December 20, 2023
Smoking Stands
Smoking Stands - Description
Smoking stands were novelty pieces of furniture made for tobacco users beginning in the early 1900s. They stored tobacco and related accessories, such as ashtrays, pipes, and matches. Smoking stands were manufactured in different designs, but the most common resembled small cabinets. They were made of wood or metal and in various period styles, such as Edwardian and Art Deco. Smoking stands peaked in popularity in the 1930s; production ceased by the 1970s.
Smoking Stands - History
When tobacco use boomed at the turn of the 20th century, many new accessories, including smoking stands, were produced. These stands—also called smoking cabinets and smokers—were practical pieces of furniture made to be a convenient catch-all for smokers. The cabinets were humidors lined in copper, tin, or another metal. They held paraphernalia such as loose tobacco, ashtrays, cigarettes, cigars, cigar cutters, matches, match holders, and pipes. Homeowners often placed tobacco stands in a dedicated smoking room or next to a favorite chair.
The most common smoking stands looked like small wooden cabinets with a door, drawer, and usually shelves. Manufacturers designed them in pedestal, table, and table-top models. Early examples were crafted of quality woods like mahogany and walnut. One of the most prominent American manufacturers of smoking stands was the H.T. Cushman Company of Vermont, which started producing them in 1913.
Their popularity peaked during the Great Depression in the 1930s when furniture manufacturers marketed them as affordable "novelty" pieces. By adding decorative flourishes and using exotic-looking veneers or woods, companies made them look more expensive than they were.
Companies also made smoking stands as novelty folk art pieces carved in the likeness of various characters, especially butlers. They typically held a tray and ashtray; some also had match holders and cups for cigarettes and cigars.
Enthusiasm for smoking stands dwindled around the 1950s, and manufacturers largely stopped producing them by the 1970s. They are collected today as conversation pieces and used as decorative accent tables, office cabinets, and plant stands.
What is the Value of your Smoking Stands? View more in our Smoking Stands Price Guide.
Smoking Stands In Price Guide
Smoking Stands - Identification & Value
Collectors can identify the most common smoking stands through their resemblance to small wooden cabinets on spindle legs. In addition to a door, drawers, and shelves, many also have top or side handles for easy carrying. They were primarily made in pedestal, table, and table-top forms, but some looked like bread boxes. The cabinets are typically lined in copper, tin, or another metal. Many examples have decorative carvings, while others can have double ashtray stands.
Manufacturers generally made smoking tables from wood, including cherry, mahogany, maple, oak, and walnut. Models created in the 1920s and 1930s tend to have a wood veneer. Accessories like cigar cutters, cigarette cups, and match holders are usually metal.
Smoking stands were made in the design styles of the era, including Arts & Crafts, Edwardian, Art Deco, and Mid-Century. Some of the most valuable are those by the renowned H.T. Cushman Company of Vermont, which excelled in Colonial-style furniture.
Figural folk art pieces from the 1920s and 1930s are another type of smoking stand. These are wooden novelties approximately thirty feet tall and carved in likenesses of characters, such as Uncle Sam, or from cartoons and comics of the day, including Andy Gump and Popeye. They typically had an ashtray or tray that held smoking accessories.
Find the Value of your Smoking Stands. WorthPoint is the largest resource online for identifying, researching and valuing antiques. Explore over 425 Million “sold for” prices with item details and images.
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Smoking Stands - Marks
Manufacturers, like H.T. Cushman or the Metal Stampings Corporation, usually marked their smoking stands with paper labels or decals. A trustworthy, detailed provenance is often the best method of authentication.
Identify your Smoking Stands Marks.
Relevant Alcohol & Smoking Articles
Further Reading on Smoking Stands
In the WorthPoint Library
Collector’s Encyclopedia of American Furniture: Volume II by Robert W. Swedberg and Harriett Swedberg.
Furniture of the Depression Era by Robert W. Swedberg and Harriett Swedberg.
Books and Periodicals
Cushman Furniture Reference, Volume I: Furniture by the H. T. Cushman Manufacturing Company of North Bennington, Vermont by Susan Bonser and David Bonser.
Cushman Furniture Reference, Volume II: Furniture by the H. T. Cushman Manufacturing Company of North Bennington, Vermont by Susan Bonser and David Bonser.
Vintage Smoking Stands: Uncovering an American Folk Art Treasure by Cheryl Alpert, Joel Neuschatz, and Claire Savitt.
Web Resources
Joe Rosson: Smoking stands were once common in American households www.knoxnews.com.
Learn about old furniture forms that have fallen out of use www.antiquetrader.com.
What Ever Happened to H.T. Cushman Furniture? vermontwoodsstudios.com.
Related Dictionary Pages: Table Lighters, Tobacco Cards, Tobacco Carpets, Tobacco Flannels.