Circa 1880s Gypsy Queen Cigarettes Display Box

Sold For:

$1,200

Year:

1889

Auction:

2022 Summer

Lot #:

3038

Category:

Non-Sports Cards/Sheets/Card Artwork

This scarce and colorful display box, which promotes Goodwin & Co.'s line of Gypsy Queen Cigarettes, dates from the late 1880s and was issued at about the same time as the company's famed N175 Gypsy Queen tobacco card set (1887). The top lid (and interior side) and each of the side panels feature a color illustration of a beautiful woman. The fact that this box has survived for 135 years at all is very impressive, and to do so in exceptional condition is all the more remarkable. This is an outstanding nineteenth-century tobacco advertising piece, and the fact that it promotes Gypsy Queen cigarettes makes it of special interest to both advertising and card collectors. The box (9 x 7.5 x 3 inches) displays moderate wear, including small abrasions, scratches, and crazing to the paint on the panels. The top lid is detached from its side mounting clasp. In Good condition overall. Reserve $200.