The Stunning Vintage Item At The Thrift Store That Belongs On Your Vanity

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There are all kinds of valuable vintage trinkets you should always look for at thrift stores. There are also items that you don't give a second glance because you don't know what they are or what they're used for. The latter might happen if you're lucky enough to come across a vintage cigarette carousel. These storage boxes often feature a music box, and truly vintage ones can be quite valuable. They're actually one of the unexpected collector's items you'll want to look out for and snap up if you see. Now, you might think that you couldn't possibly find a use for a cigarette carousel. However, even during their heyday, women were putting these boxes on their vanity and filling the compartments with lipstick.

These quirky devices were quite popular in the early to mid-20th century when smoking tobacco was fashionable and not yet considered harmful to health. You could find cigarette carousels inside homes, often sitting on coffee tables and ready to dispense cigarettes to visiting guests. The storage containers have either three or six compartments with doors that open up to reveal the contents inside. Sometimes, a tinkling music box-style tune would emanate from inside the device. Most cigarette carousels were manufactured in Italy or Switzerland, and they featured Swiss-made musical movements and ornate designs. Materials include — though are far from limited to — onyx, Bakelite, milk glass, porcelain, and wood.

Quite a few lucky shoppers have found a cigarette carousel at their local thrift store. Keep an eye out for them; you might get lucky and snag something affordable. They were produced in relatively large numbers during the height of their popularity, so they're not rare. However, they do get snapped up by collectors. If you really must have a cigarette carousel and are too impatient to thrift one, browse online resale marketplaces like eBay and Etsy. There are also a few specialty stores, like The Music House, that sell these whimsical devices. Be prepared to pay a few hundred dollars for one online. On eBay, for example, vintage cigarette carousels start at about $50 and max out at about $1,000. You could also try a little-known alternative to thrift stores that's always full of vintage gold — the salvage yard.

No matter how you find your cigarette carousel, whether at a thrift store or online, you have to decide how to display and use it once you get it home. You could, of course, place it on your vanity and store your lipstick collection in it. In the kitchen, the compartments would work well for storing Snackadilly Individually Wrapped Peppermint Sticks or teaspoons and sugar and creamer sachets in a coffee bar. TikToker @myramagdalen uses a cigarette carousel to store a collection of nail clippers. Take a leaf from her book and use it to store nail tools, cotton tips, or art-making supplies — think needle tools and jewelry pliers — in the bathroom or craft room.