Antique Humidor questions & pictures

This Antique Humidor has been in my family for years. Nobody seems to remember whose it was.

My questions are:

1. When was it made?
2. Who made it?
3. What's it worth?
4. How was it used / copper lined?
5. Can I have a cedar box built to fit inside?
6. Who can build it for me?
7. It's in pretty bad shape, should I have it refinished?

(man, for a newbie I have a lot of questions)

[kydsid]

1. When was it made?

Complete guess pre 1950's because its copper lined.

2. Who made it?

No idea. Could be just the local furniture maker, any markings? Signature, numbering etc?

3. What's it worth?

I'll give you a dolla!

4. How was it used / copper lined?

It is a humidor. Before cedar was used copper was a common lining in humidors. Shoud still be usuable as a humidor as is.

5. Can I have a cedar box built to fit inside?

You could but then you'd ruin the antiqueness (is that a word?)

6. Who can build it for me?

Find a wood worker in town. Or just buy some cedar. I personally wouldn't though. Its cool looking.


7. It's in pretty bad shape, should I have it refinished?

The exterior? Why not. Sand and refinish. Might even find a clue to origin if careful. Just don't store cigars in their while a staining or drying. Might get into the cigars.

[nofeardiver]

wow just beutiful, i wouldnt do anything to it, may get a sheet of cedar to put on the bottom, and throw some cigars in it, that is just cool....

[Fordman4ever]

That thing is pretty cool looking. I'm with nofeardiver, if it holds RH then I wouldn't do anything to it except maybe put a sheet of cedar in the bottom.

[OLS]

I know this has occurred to you, but building a spanish cedar box that slides inside would preserve the
antiquity and give you an expensive way to make it more useful at today's standards. There is a very busy
woodcrafter (or more than 1) on this forum and any one of them would love to take your money. It doesn't
have to be a snug fit, & it might be a good idea. Other than that, with beads, this is certainly functional as is.
It looks like it was created out of parts of other furniture to tell you the truth. Those legs look 're-used' for
some reason.

[N2 GOLD]

It has a kool old skool look to it...

I would leave it as is... IMO

[mfarre03]

Very nice, I always pass those at the yard sales. Never seen one that looks so bright inside though, sweet!

[Barcode]

That looks great I would just leave it As Is

Update: It's not copper lined unless copper is magnetic

It must be copper coated sheet metal.

[fid]

In my opinion-which is entirely based on episodes of Antiques Roadshow-don't have it refinished unless you have it appraised first. I think you would seriously lower the value of it if it had any to begin with. Go to a local carpenter and have a cedar insert made for it. I think it is a nice looking piece of cigar furniture.

[DMK]

Originally Posted by Barcode

That looks great I would just leave it As Is

+1, leave it alone and find a nice place in the man cave or living room to show it off !

I would not refinish it at all! Unless like stated above you have it appraised first. Which is not a bad idea either because finding somebody to appraise it will answer most of the questions you have about it.

I would also agree the legs just don'e look right. Maybe its the pictures but the legs look newer then the body.

Nice humidor and very unique looking. I agree with everything that has been said in this thread. Appraise it before doing anything to it, and if it is worth nothing then do as you please. If that was mine and I had the money to do what I wanted, I would have a cedar frame built to fit inside it so I could add some cedar shelves. But that is about as far as I would go with it.

Looks like a nice quality antique humidor. I'm in agreement with the majority of this thread. I'd have it appraised and I wouldn't change a thing.

Here's the update: It was built in the 1930's. Called novelty furniture. Copper plated sheet metal lined, not copper lined. Still no value.

http://www.antiqueweb.com/articles/a...furniture.html

More info when I get it.

[poker]

Youre looks better, but heres some info. Look towards bottom.

http://www.instappraisal.com/content...ed-smoke-stand

Originally Posted by poker

Youre looks better, but heres some info. Look towards bottom.

http://www.instappraisal.com/content...ed-smoke-stand

Thanks !!!

Here's more info.

From furnituredetective.com:

Brad – Humidors like that were typically made during the Depression of the 1930s and were considered to be “novelty” items. During the Depression many companies turned to the manufacture of small items to have something affordable to sell that people could afford to buy rather than entire sets of furniture.

These items were called "novelties" and included things like magazine racks, hanging shelves, magazine and lamp tables and smoking stands. You can see a number of novelty items in the book "Furniture of the Depression Era" by Swedberg, Collector Books. http://www.amazon.com/Furniture-Depr...745725&sr=1-41

Your cabinet appears to be slightly more modern than the 1930s but I can’t tell without actually seeing it. As far as the manufacturer goes – without a label it is impossible to tell. It is a fairly generic design.

Your humidor has no antique or collector’s value. It is simply a family treasure.

From gotham-museum.com:

Brad,

These are very common cigar furniture style humidors, you can find about a dozen of them on ebay without many takers.
They were made sometime 1900 - 1930 time frame give or take a few years, in terms of worth; $50-$100 provided you have an interested party.

Cheers, Nick
================================================== =

and so it goes...

Nice humidor and very unique looking. I agree with everything that has been said in this thread.Very useful accessories to keep your cigar safe and fresh.

[pnoon]

Originally Posted by jenniefrost

Nice humidor and very unique looking. I agree with everything that has been said in this thread.Very useful accessories to keep your cigar safe and fresh.

Welcome to Cigar Asylum. Please post in the New Inmate Forum and introduce yourself.