SMOKING MEMORABILIA
One of Britain’s Largest Collections of Smoking Memorabilia
About the collection
The story of our smoking memorabilia collection began as a childhood hobby for museum founder Sparrow Harrison, who started collecting colourful cigarette packets and cigarette cards.
Over the years, Sparrow’s collection has grown through donations and additions from other private collections, becoming one of the largest collections of smoking memorabilia in Britain.
The collection traces the history of smoking from the 19th century through the golden age of tobacco advertising and into the period when the health risks of smoking became increasingly recognised and attitudes towards smoking began to change.
From beautifully designed cigarette packets and colourful advertising to tobacco tins, lighters and unusual smoking-related objects, the collection offers a fascinating insight into changing fashions, marketing, popular culture and social attitudes towards smoking.
The Collection Includes
- Vintage cigarette packets and tobacco tins
- Cigarette cards and collectors’ cards
- Vintage tobacco advertising, posters and promotional displays
- Pipes, lighters and smoking accessories
- Matchboxes, ashtrays and branded memorabilia
- Smoking-related ornaments and decorative collectables
- Cigarette trench art and wartime memorabilia
Don’t miss
- The extensive cigarette card collection – a fascinating glimpse into one of the most popular forms of collecting
- Our huge assortment of vintage lighters and ashtrays
- Vintage tobacco advertising – including a striking poster promoting smoking to pregnant women, showing how dramatically attitudes and advertising have changed
- Vintage paper craft rosettes made from cigarette packaging – unusual examples of decorative paper craft from the collection.
- WW2 cigarette packets – a fascinating reminder of the role tobacco played in wartime life
- A vintage 1950s novelty silk headscarf – featuring colourful pop-art-style graphics
The collection is not simply about smoking — it is a fascinating record of social history, advertising, design and everyday life, showing how an everyday product was marketed and viewed across generations.
