Write to James Leavey

This must be the first time in history that a perfectly legal product, i.e. premium cigars, remains on sale and yet its users are actively discouraged to actually enjoy it.  It's rather like buying an ice cream, and then told you mustn't lick it in public.

The way things are going with the growing clamour for bans on public smoking, Britain's cigar aficionados will be given two choices: either stop smoking or be prepared to store your favourite tubes of hand-rolled tobacco – indefinitely. 

Or at least until the next tobacco-friendly BBC Antiques Roadshow comes along.  You never know, one day, hopefully, all those boxes of cigars will be worth something – if only to future sociologists who will use them to demonstrate how, once upon a time, consenting adults could ignite and smoke tubes of premium, hand-rolled tobacco in public without getting arrested.

Of course, what you should be collecting are the finely crafted boxes cigars are stored in.  Forget about all those cheap cigar humidors from China, which are about as attractive and useful as a Tupperware box.  Now's the time to start investing in finely crafted humidors, especially the renovated antiques that have been sold by Wendy Salisbury for the last 33 years.

But let's start at the beginning. 

During the 18th and 19th centuries, British artisans and cabinet makers created containers from a myriad of materials to hold everything from cutlery to cosmetics.

“These boxes, crafted from a variety of exotic woods including mahogany, walnut, macassar, amboyna,  rosewood, and coromandel, were an indispensable part of Georgian, Regency and Victorian life,” said Salisbury.  “The gentlemen of the period carried dressing-cases, wine coolers and gun boxes and the ladies treasured needlework boxes, writing slopes, and tea caddies - all functional, decorative, and today, eminently collectible. 

“The boxes were adorned with ornate marquetry, decorated with Tunbridge-ware, embellished with brass handles and fretwork, mother-of-pearl and abalone inlay, pewter and silver stringing, and ebony and ivory edging..  The dressing-cases were made for travelling with gold or silver-topped crystal jars and bottles to hold powders, perfumes and pomades with individual sections for manicure sets, moustache brushes, glove stretchers, and button hooks. Workboxes would house tapestry silks, pearl beads, buttons, and crochet hooks.  Jewellery boxes, lined in silk moir‚ and velvets, often hid secret drawers, as did the writing boxes for the necessary concealment of illicit billets doux.  Ah! les liaisons dangereuses... The servants would ensure that each box was packed complete and ready for travelling and would personally carry it onto the stagecoach often hiding the precious jewel boxes under the ladies' skirts to keep them from the highwaymen. “

Down through the centuries, many of these boxes have endured but their contents, sadly, have not.

“Rather than leave them languishing empty in a cellar or attic, we search the stately homes, auction rooms and antique fairs to seek out the finest quality boxes for restoration and conversion,” said Salisbury.

“Today they are enjoying a new incarnation as cigar humidors, for which our cabinet makers have selected the finest cedrosa olorosa and hand-crafted for each one a bespoke lining. In the lid of the box, a rubber seal has been applied to create an airtight environment in which to store your cigars.  Each box is a unique and exclusive possession providing the discerning connoisseur with a classic addition to their home or office interior.”

For Salisbury, it all started in 1972 when she bought a beautiful antique box in Portobello Road market for £24.  “It was a lot of money in those days,” said Salisbury.  “At the time, my then fiancee was a cigar smoker and I wanted to give him a present.  But I didn't want to give him a plain, square Dunhill box – which was pretty standard at the time.   I was into antiques and valued one-off pieces.  Then I rather cheekily phoned the Dunhill workshop and asked to speak to the gentleman in charge of the humidors, and a chap came to the phone and I did a bit of a Mata-Hari and asked him if he would interested in converting the box in his spare time. Eighteen months later, I had a workshop in Camberwell employing six men.  What had happened in between was that I had got that box done and a friend has ordered one for her husband, and then another friend ordered one for her boyfriend. Suddenly, I found I had a business - from nowhere.

“So I went round all the antique markets, auction rooms and fairs buying antique boxes that were converted by my team, for commissions.  Then I started taking them into shops – my first customer was Robert Lewis in St James's Street, then along came Asprey and, eventually, Dunhill, and exporting to the USA and Italy.  It became a very good ongoing little business, and was known as Touchwood Design.”

Salisbury's latest venture is importing ancient antique safes from the Far East: “...which are large, very beautiful objects,” she said, “some of them the size of a fridge/freezer...” and starting a new business called The London Antiques Ltd.

“These safes are being converted into huge humidors, or cocktail bars,” she said.  “The first one is ready, I've got another two in progress, and another 28 waiting to be done – they'll retail for a minimum of around £10,000.  I anticipate they will go into clubs, restaurants and private homes – and some specialist cigar shops.”

Meanwhile, Ashton, one of the great names in cigars has now become one of the great names in humidors, at least according to Mark Acton of Tor Imports.  “All Ashton humidors are handcrafted in Ireland utilizing traditional techniques and the very finest materials in the world,” he said.

“Completing an Ashton humidor can take up to 26 weeks.  Every hand-fitted joint is seamlessly smooth and all humidors gleam from a 40-step, hand-rubbed velvet-gloss finish.  Attention to detail is meticulous.  Veneers are selected, book-matched and in-laid by hand, each with an artistic flavour providing uniqueness to each humidor.  They're a great piece of furniture, and a good investment for the serious cigar smoker.”

Ashton's current range of finely-crafted 'Savoy' humidors includes Bubinga (r.r.p.£99), the Savoy Glass Top Humidor (r.r.p.£115), and, not least, Savoy Travel Humidors (made from genuine black leather and available in two sizes only for r.r.p.  £75 or £110).

Tor Imports also represent Prometheus's famous range of elegant humidors, including the Milano Series, all made in Italy (r.r.p. From £325).

So, even if you do quit smoking cigars – do hang onto the boxes...