Box, Tobacciana, Antonio Y Cleopatra, Embossed & Gilded Label, Cardboard, Dominican Republic, Vintage 1970s

On the outside: a coin, two profiles, tobacco leaves. Open it, and Cleopatra is waiting.

• Maker: American Cigar, A Division of American Brands Inc.
• Brand: Antonio Y Cleopatra
• Materials: Heavy cardboard, embossed & gilded paper labels
• Dimensions: 6.75" × 6.5" × 2.0" tall
• Origin: Dominican Republic
• Era: Vintage, circa 1970s–1980s (pre-1994 divestiture)
• Condition: Very good vintage condition. Piece of tape on exterior top; minor surface scratches; very clean inside and out. Please review photos closely before purchasing, as all sales are final.

Today it serves beautifully as a desktop organizer, a keepsake box, a playing card or game storage container, a bar catchall for bottle openers and wine stoppers, or simply a decorative object on a shelf. A wonderful find for a tobacciana collector, a brand history enthusiast, a lover of classical iconography in commercial art, or anyone who appreciates beautiful objects with deep roots.

The exterior is restrained and elegant — a medallion with the profiles of Antony and Cleopatra framed by tobacco leaves. But open the lid and the full label is revealed: a richly detailed scene of Cleopatra reclining in a regal chair, Marcus Antonius at her side, every surface embossed and gilded with the painstaking craftsmanship that made mid-century cigar box labels among the finest commercial art of their era. Marked on the base "American Cigar, A Division of American Brands Inc., New York, NY 10167," this dates the box confidently to between 1970 and 1994, when American Brands sold its tobacco operations to Brown & Williamson. Antonio Y Cleopatra Grenadiers originated in Cuba in 1879 — one of the oldest cigar brand names still in production — while American Brands Inc. itself began as The American Tobacco Company, founded by J.B. Duke in 1890, restructured as a holding company in 1969, and eventually renamed Fortune Brands after its tobacco divestiture. This small box sits at the intersection of three centuries of American and Caribbean tobacco history.

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