Cookie Jar or Tobacco Jar?

Ever seen a jar listed on eBay as a cookie jar that had you scratching your head? And even after perusing your extensive library of cookie jar books you still couldn't identify the jar? More than likely, the jar you were looking at was a humidor or tobacco jar, as they are more commonly known. The world of tobacco jar collecting is similar to the world of cookie jar collecting, except for a few distinct differences. Most of the collectible tobacco jars date back to the 19th and early 20th centuries before cigarettes replaced the pipe. Because few jars were manufactured in the United States, they are harder to find and tend to cost considerably more than your harder-to-find vintage cookie jar. Lastly, there is only one price and identification book available to tobacco jar enthusiasts, as compared to the numerous books we cookie jar collectors have at our disposal.

Rick Wisecarver Bison Tobacco Jar

This book is Joseph Horowitz's Figural Humidors - Mostly Victorian and it doesn't come cheap. A copy will set you back $75.00 or more on most Internet sites, if you can find it at all. If you don't want to spend that kind of money or are just interested in learning more about tobacco jars, there's an online site hosted by the Society of Tobacco Jar Collectors (http://www.tobaccojarsociety.com/) where tobacco jar enthusiasts gather to ask questions and post information and pictures. Those differences aside, tobacco jars are similar to cookie jars in that they come in different shapes and sizes, ranging from head jars to full figural jars measuring thirteen inches in height. Because these jars were decorative as well as utilitarian pieces, they tend to be more detailed than cookie jars, especially the head jars. Most tobacco jars have their lid and base separation point in the center of the jar, which is one clue that the jar you are having trouble identifying may be a tobacco jar. Additionally, the majority have a hole in the underside portion of the lid (similar to the hole in the Metlox Washtub Mammy lid), which was used to hold a small sponge. When cookie jar collecting became so popular, numerous books were written and published to aid collectors in identifying cookie jars. Because there was no similar source at the time for reference, some books do contain pictures of jars that were thought to be cookie jars that are actually tobacco jars. One example, "Man with Wheelbarrow", is pictured on page 255 of Supnick's Wonderful World of Cookie Jars. This jar is a copy of a 19th century tobacco jar that was produced in two solid colors - dark brown and tan-gray. Authentic jars, which are rather uncommon and hard to find, carry a mark that reads WS&S 96 and have a book value ranging from $500-$900. One thing cookie and tobacco jar collectors do have in common is the volume of copies and fakes that have flooded the market. So, if you run across a tobacco jar in an antique shop or on the Internet, you'd be well advised to check with the Society of Tobacco Jar Collectors before investing in what may turn out to be a copy or fake. Links: Society of Tobacco Jar Collectors Figural Humidors - Mostly Victorian