Cigarette case

Object Type
This cigarette case is a luxury item, made of sharkskin which has been artificially coloured and lined with silk. It was imported from France for sale in Howell and James's shop in Regent Street, London, in the 1870s. Cigarettes had first become available in Britain in the 1850s, and their portability and ease of use made them popular with those who could afford them. Cases for them came into use because they were more easily damaged than a wad of tobacco.

Background
Travellers introduced tobacco into Europe from the Americas in the 16th century. It was chewed or smoked in pipes; it could also be mixed with other ingredients to inhale as snuff. Tobacco was also associated with medical usage. Some of its earliest users claimed that it would cure toothache, chilblains, ulcers and wounds! The forerunner of the cigarette was the cigarillo, a small cigar brought into Britain by soldiers returning from the Napoleonic wars in Spain.

Social Class
Tobacco quickly became popular with all classes, although it was not considered appropriate for respectable women to use it until the 1930s. Cigarettes were originally made by hand, and used by the better off. The poorest classes kept the habit of chewing tobacco and the use of clay pipes the longest. They could not easily afford cigarettes until the 1880s, when a move to machine production made them cheaper and easier to buy.