From the Golden Age of Smoking.

The Plaza Hotel, rising grandly at Fifth Avenue and Central Park South, has long stood as New York’s most theatrical address – a palace where society matrons, film stars, diplomats, and tycoons passed through revolving doors into a world of chandeliers, white-glove service, and hushed intrigue. By the 1950s, a stay at the Plaza was less a lodging choice than a declaration, its suites serving as private stages for power breakfasts, midnight confidences, and Champagne-laced celebrations worthy of the city’s most luminous legends.

An authentic Plaza Hotel Glass Ashtray recalls a time when every guest room carried the faint perfume of tobacco and glamour, when lighting a cigarette was as customary as drawing the curtains. One can imagine it resting on a polished nightstand beside the gloves of Marilyn Monroe, the script pages of Marlon Brando, the cufflinks of Frank Sinatra, or the pearls of Elizabeth Taylor, its clear, weighty form catching lamplight like cut crystal. Today, it remains a small but evocative artifact from an era when even the simplest hotel accessory bore the imprint of high society.

Explore an intriguing world of rare books, vintage collectibles, and curios, oddities, and conversation pieces. This carefully selected assortment at Artifacts & Curiosities invites you to discover eclectic treasures with historical significance, perfect for history lovers, gift hunters, and collectors alike.