Where There's Smoke...

There's an ashtray.

Only I didn't know it then.

About two years ago we bought this metal piece. It looked like a mold of some sort, each side protruding, quite detailed, showing a man putting his hand up a lady's skirt.


It has clearly, roughly, been hacked-out of something...



We wondered if it was a candy mold, or if it was the mold for some other piece.

Then a few weeks ago, I spotted this two-sided ashtray on eBay and won the auction (less than $7).



Though the dimensions listed were/are roughly the same, this ceramic piece is slightly different. The details are not as crisp, as fine, and there are enough variations in faces and attire that even before I received it I knew it wasn't made from our metal piece. But it was clearly related and I wanted a closer look.

Not long after that, Gloria had her spectacular posts on erotic tobacciana, and in one post I spotted what looked just like our metal piece.



I emailed Gloria and she said she's owned that 'model' ashtray before (and given it away to a friend) and that she spots them relatively often. She helped me with a few search terms (risque ashtray works nicely), and since then I've seen a few other variations.





Including this sailor theme.



And one that looks a bit older (with a much different shape to the ashtray).




While I am still not certain if what we have is an ashtray with the 'art' crudely cut out or if it is a mold (because ours seems unmarked from cigs like the other metal ones), I am hoping a metal ashtray in this design comes my way soon so that I can compare them better.