by Lillian Csernica on April 4, 2017
In polite society, if you were anyone at all you carried calling cards, which made card cases among the most essential accessories for both men and women.
kittysantiquejewelry.com
Antique Art Nouveau silver card case dated Christmas 1907
In addition to calling cards, ladies of society also had dance cards. When playing the marriage game or just having an evening out, a proper lady had to plan ahead!
doyle.com
Two Austrian dance card cases circa 1901-1902
Smoking was a common habit in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries, even among ladies. The flappers of the Roaring ’20s called cigarettes “gaspers,” and kept them in ornate cigarette cases.
Antique Art Nouveau silver and enamel cigarette case
new.liveauctioneers.com
A Russian gun metal and silver Art Nouveau cigarette case, Moscow 1908-1917
For those who carried cigarettes, the natural companion to the cigarette case was the match safe, also known as a “vesta.”
dempseyandbaxter on ebay.com
Gorham Butterfly Woman Sterling Silver Repousse Match Case
American Sterling Silver Vesta
Hopes & Dreams: My Writing and My Sons 
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Well, those ‘gasper’ cases make you want to start smoking… even if I’ve never been so incline 😉
Hey, and you forgot: together with the cigarette case and the match case, they woudl carry a portable ashtray. I have one of those.
@JazzFeathers
The Old Shelter – 1940s Film Noir
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Oh wow! I didn’t know those were available back then. I knew the Japanese have them, but I thought it was a modern invention.
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Those are all beautiful pieces of art. My father had a sterling silver cigarette case, once.
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Those items appeal to me even more than the jewelry…especially the card case. Wonder what starts with D??
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I must confess I was particularly proud of discovering the dance card cases. They include little notebooks, and you know how I am about notebooks!
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