Ashtray

Many women avoided the use of the traditional ashtray as it failed to reflect their feminine values through an activity that was long declared as being exclusive to men.

Some even featured very luxurious cast-iron models of women in fancy dresses, animals in states of play and the occasional porcelain or ceramic tray highlighting extravagant floral arrangements.

[2] As time went on, and the onset of women smoking both cigars and cigarettes became less of a departure from the average person, ashtrays saw a decline in design aesthetics and began more of a shift towards practicality.

But as new models of vehicles were constantly introduced to the public, these little foibles gave way and many began to use chrome trays with covers that could be opened and closed at the driver's discretion.

[1] Today, ashtrays are still used for cigarette smokers, but they have also been making a small revival in popularity from the cigar aficionados of the world.

A glass ashtray, holding a lit cigarette in an edge indentation
Commemorative, decorative ashtray manufactured 1935 (photo 2011)
Wall-mounted ashtray
Standing type ashtray for passing pedestrian .
An ashtray with a cover. A metal surface of the cover serves to place a cigarette during smoking, to drop ash on and to extinguish the cigarette once finished. Then, the user presses the mechanism and the ashes and the cigarette butt are dropped into the internal chamber.
A trashcan equipped with an ashtray at its top. Because the ashes and the potentially still lit cigarette butts are separated from other garbage, the risk of fire is reduced.