{{short description|Tray for collecting ash from cigarettes and cigars}} {{for|containers in which cigarettes are disposed of|Cigarette receptacle}} {{more citations needed|date=August 2013}} thumb|right|A glass ashtray, holding a lit cigarette in an edge indentation with a small box of matches nearby An '''ashtray''' is a receptacle for ash from cigarettes, cigars, and other smokable products. Ashtrays typically are made of fire-retardant material such as glass, heat-resistant plastic, pottery, metal, or stone. It differs from a cigarette receptacle, which is specifically for discarding cigarettes after being smoked.
==Types== thumb|Commemorative, decorative ashtray manufactured 1935 (photo 2011) right|thumb|Wall-mounted ashtray [[File:Standing ashtray full of cigarette butts.jpg|thumb|Standing type ashtray for passing pedestrians.]] thumb|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. [[File:Ash tray of the McDonald's restaurant, Timisoara, Romania.JPG|thumb|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.]]
The most common ashtray design is a shallow cylinder with a flat base, to rest on a table. Other ashtrays, particularly in public places, are wall-mounted, and larger than standard tabletop ashtrays due to the increased use they receive. There are also public ashtrays combined with trashcans.
Many ashtrays have notches at the rim, to hold cigarettes and/or a cigar. Frequently ashtrays were equipped in older large or luxury cars before later being available as dealer-installed accessory items.<ref name=":0" /> There are ashtrays that have a cover to prevent odor from leaving the ashtray. It also prevents oxygen from flowing in, so a cigarette will go out by itself, even if it has not been completely extinguished by pushing into the surface.{{cn|date=October 2024}}
==History== While simple, primitive forms of ashtrays existed long before the 19th century, it was during the start of the 20th century that the design, aesthetics and their popularity really took off.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Sculptor and the Ashtray |url=https://www.noguchi.org/museum/exhibitions/view/the-sculptor-and-the-ashtray/ |access-date=2026-01-22 |website=The Noguchi Museum |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Kahn |first=Eve |date=August 25, 2025 |title=Casting a Fresh Eye on Artifacts from Smoke-Filled Rooms |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/25/style/ashtray-design-revival.html |url-status=live |access-date=January 22, 2026 |website=The New York Times}}</ref> As more women began to smoke in the early 1900s, the ashtray went closer to an art form.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Manty |first=Kris |date=2024-05-07 |title=Vintage Ashtrays Are Smoking Hot Collectibles |url=https://www.antiquetrader.com/collecting-101/ashtrays-hot-collectibles |access-date=2026-01-22 |website=Antique Trader |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":0" /> 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.<ref name=":0" />
What emerged were detailed, often very fancy ashtrays. These ashtrays depicted pastoral scenes of maidens wandering through vibrantly colored landscapes. 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.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.neptunecigar.com/tips/cigars-and-the-history-of-the-ashtray|title=Cigars and the History of the Ashtray|last=Normand|first=Luzzie|website=Neptune Cigars, Inc. (US)|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612140220/https://www.neptunecigar.com/tips/cigars-and-the-history-of-the-ashtray|archive-date=12 June 2018|url-status=live|access-date=6 June 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Bryan |first=Cristante |date=2023-12-07 |title=aussiesmokes.com |url=https://aussiesmokes.com/ |access-date=2026-04-13 |website=Aussie Smokes |language=en-AU}}</ref><ref name=":1" />
The word "ashtray" in unhyphenated form, rather than "ash tray" or "ash-tray", did not come into common use until 1926.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YP2dHzxkx5cC&q=ashtrays&pg=PA136|title=Golden Holocaust: Origins of the Cigarette Catastrophe and the Case for Abolition|last=Proctor|first=Robert N.|date=2012|publisher=University of California Press|page=136|isbn=9780520950436|access-date=6 June 2018}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The History and Evolution of the Ashtray |url=https://puffypuppyco.com/blogs/news/the-history-and-evolution-of-the-ashtray |access-date=2026-01-22 |website=Puffy Puppy Company |language=en}}</ref> However, it was not uncommon to see ashtrays featuring pin-up girls in bars during this decade.<ref>{{Cite web |title=What the World Doesn't Know About Pin-Up Girls |url=https://historycollection.com/what-the-world-doesnt-know-about-pin-up-girls/5/ |access-date=2026-01-22 |website=History Collection |language=en-US}}</ref> It was also during this time that another trend in ashtrays began to emerge, which was the auto-ashtray.<ref name=":0" />
While the addition of vehicle ashtrays is now becoming something of the past, there was a time when these not only came standard, they were expected.<ref>{{Cite journal |date=2000-11-27 |title=Automakers drop ashtrays, lighters from new cars |url=https://journalrecord.com/2000/11/27/automakers-drop-ashtrays-lighters-from-new-cars/ |journal=The Journal Record}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2004-02-08 |title=Standard ashtrays going up in smoke |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2004/02/08/standard-ashtrays-going-up-in-smoke/ |access-date=2026-04-13 |website=Chicago Tribune |language=en-US}}</ref> In the early years, design oversights put these ash receptacles right below the A/C and heating so every time the owner would use either of these, the ash would inadvertently fly in their face or even all throughout the car.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |date=1994-02-20 |title=BUTT OUT: A HISTORY OF THE AUTO ASHTRAY |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1994/02/20/butt-out-a-history-of-the-auto-ashtray/ |url-access=subscription |access-date=2026-01-22 |website=Chicago Tribune |language=en-US|last=Chicago|first=Tribune}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Herriott |first=Richard |date=2014-11-29 |title=Ashtrays |url=https://driventowrite.com/2014/11/29/ashtrays/ |access-date=2026-04-13 |website=Driven to Write |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Times |first=MARSHALL SCHUON Source: (The New York |date=1990-04-18 |title=THE ASHTRAY TEST DEMONSTRATES DRAWBACKS OF INTERIOR DESIGN |url=https://www.afr.com/politics/the-ashtray-test-demonstrates-drawbacks-of-interior-design-19900418-jfrum |access-date=2026-04-13 |website=Australian Financial Review |language=en}}</ref> But as new vehicle models were constantly introduced to the public, these little flaws gave way and many began using chrome trays with covers that could be opened and closed at the driver's discretion.<ref name=":2" />
Many luxury cars would create a more luxurious design and it was common to see intricately made ashtrays in some of the high-end cars of the day. These ashtrays would feature leather, high-end metals and even specialized engravings by the manufacturer.<ref name=":0" /> But, just like the stand-alone ashtray, the vehicle ashtray began to lose popularity and in 1994, vehicles began to be produced without them and instead, offer the buyer the option to include one from the dealer.<ref name=":0" />
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. Ashtrays designed for cigars are often larger than standard ashtrays and include notches big enough to hold the cigar.<ref name=":0" />
== Ashtrays as design objects == A number of well-known designers have created ashtrays:
<gallery mode="packed" heights="130px"> Theo van Doesburg 146.jpg|Theo van Doesburg (1927) 1966 Q-typeHaizara Masahiro-Mori.jpg|Masahiro Mori (1966) Medusa ashtray Versace Rosenthal plane and oblique.jpg|Large (22 cm × 22 cm) ashtray designed by Versace and produced by porcelain company Rosenthal BEL Brussels Airport 001 2016 - Ashtray.jpg|A bollard that also serves as an ashtray at Brussels Airport </gallery>
==See also== *Smoking *Smoking culture
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *{{Commons-inline}}
{{Cigarettes}} {{Authority control}}
Category:Domestic implements Category:Waste containers Category:Smoking Category:Tobacciana Category:Tobacco accessories