A cigarette holder is a fashion accessory, a slender tube in which a cigarette is held for smoking. Most frequently made of silver, jade or bakelite, cigarette holders were considered an essential part of ladies' fashion from the early 1910s through early to the mid 1970s.
Purpose
The holder was also a practical accessory and served several purposes:
The primary use was to keep falling ash off a woman's clothes, especially since women didn't wear smoking jackets. This is the reason for the long length, and for why the holders were longer for more formal occasions.
Kept side-stream smoke further from the smokers' eyes and out from under the ladies' hat.
Helped prevent nicotine staining of the fingers and gloves.
Reduced staining of the teeth.
Kept the thin cigarette paper from sticking to, and tearing on, the smokers' lips.
Cooled and mellowed the smoke.
Holders sometimes encased a filter for taste and, later, for health reasons.
Before the advent of filtered cigarettes in the 1960s, the holder also helped keep tobacco flakes out of the smokers' mouth.
Appearance
Materials
Cigarette holders range from the simplest single material constructs to incredibly ornate styles with complex inlays of metal and gemstones. Rarer examples of these can be found in enamel, horn, tortoiseshell, or more precious materials such as amber and ivory. A similar holder made of wood, meerschaum or bakelite and with an amber mouthpiece was used for cigars and was a popular accessory for men from the Edwardian period until the 1920s.
Size
As with evening gloves, ladies' cigarette holders are measured by four traditional formal standard lengths:
opera length, usually 16 to 20 inches/40 to 50 cm
theatre length, 10 to 14 inches/25 to 35 cm
dinner length, 4 to 6 inches/10 to 15 cm
cocktail length, which includes shorter holders
Traditionally, men's cigarette holders were no more than 4 inches long.
Holders can be seen in period films like Titanic, and are immortalised in films of the 1950s and 1960s. Holly Golightly, the naïve and eccentric café society girl in the iconic 1961 classic Breakfast at Tiffany's who is portrayed by Audrey Hepburn, is famously seen carrying an oversized cigarette holder; the image of Hepburn wearing the famous Givenchy little black dress, with the foot-long cigarette holder in her hand, is considered one of the most iconic images of 20th centuryAmerican cinema. Lucille Ball can be seen using one in certain episodes of I Love Lucy. In Troop Beverly Hills Shelly Long's character is seen throughout the movie using one. Cruella de Vil is seen using one repeatedly in the 1961 animated Disney film, One Hundred and One Dalmatians and in the 1996 remake portrayed by Glenn Close. Margo Lane used one in The Shadow, as did Jade in Jonny Quest. Comedian Phyllis Diller had a stage persona which included holding a long cigarette holder from which she pretended to smoke. Fictional Peter Pan character Captain Hook possessed a unique double-holder, which allowed him to smoke two cigars at once. Batman's nemesis The Penguin also commonly uses a cigarette holder in the comics and the 1960s television series, as well as in the live-action filmBatman Returns. Edna Mode from The Incredibles franchise is often seen with an unlit cigarette holder. Johnny Depp uses a cigarette holder in his role as Raoul Duke in the film Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. In cartoons, the Pink Panther, Colonel Sponsz from The Adventures of Tintin, and Jade from Jonny Quest use cigarette holders. The lyrics to Satin Doll by Duke Ellington and the cover art of the albumBadfinger feature a cigarette holder. The video to Into the Great Wide Open by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers features Faye Dunaway using her cigarette holder as a magic wand. Rachel Menken, a character on the AMC series Mad Men, smokes cigarettes with a short holder.
