Waste material turned into ashtray not to ashes

The YZ-branded range of novelties – a whimsical selection of ashtrays, match holders, pipe holders, pipe racks etc fashioned in tropical hardwoods and cherry amber bakelite – was produced by walking stick and cane maker Henry Howell and Company in the 1920s-30s.

Most were the brainchild of Bernard Charles Howell, a talented cartoonist who invented a cast of c…

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