Since the first Europeans arrived in the new world, we have been smoking tobacco, a habit acquired from the American Indians. People used heavy ceramic vessels in which to keep their tobacco. These were covered with a lid, and usually there was a ceramic weight inside the container on top of the tobacco. Rarely are these weights found today in the early tobacco jars, as they got broken or lost over the years. All kinds of ceramic bodies were used to make these - jasperware and stoneware of various kinds being the most common. They were decorated in all kinds of ways and all kinds of patterns.

<<< return to previous page