Cigarette Case, 1920

This cigarette case was designed by the architect and designer Josef Hoffmann (1870–1956) around 1925. In the early 20th century, smokers could choose from a variety of smoking accessories, among them decorative cases for storing cigarettes in bourgeois smoking lounges and offices. The original preparatory drawing for this design by Hoffmann has survived in the Wiener Werkstätte archive at the MAK – Museum of Applied Arts. With its sweeping outlines, which look like curved braces, the object recalls Hoffmann’s buildings, for instance the Austrian Pavilion at the 1925 World’s Fair in Paris. The execution, using sheet brass and wood, was carried out by the Wiener Werkstätte.

MR, 2023