COLLECTION SALE ● US-CARS ● KUSTOM KULTURE ● MID-CENTURY ● HIFI CLASSICS ● AVIATION ● ALL ONE-OFFS ● PICKUP IN RICKENBACH ZH ● COLLECTION SALE ● US-CARS ● KUSTOM KULTURE ● MID-CENTURY ● HIFI CLASSICS ● AVIATION ● ALL ONE-OFFS ● PICKUP IN RICKENBACH ZH ● COLLECTION SALE ● US-CARS ● KUSTOM KULTURE ● MID-CENTURY ● HIFI CLASSICS ● AVIATION ● ALL ONE-OFFS ● PICKUP IN RICKENBACH ZH ● COLLECTION SALE ● US-CARS ● KUSTOM KULTURE ● MID-CENTURY ● HIFI CLASSICS ● AVIATION ● ALL ONE-OFFS ● PICKUP IN RICKENBACH ZH ●

Pocket spittoon · metal with hinged lid

NEU

Hinged lid · removable inner ring · medical history

Item no. 050-381-000

A pocket spittoon in polished metal: a flat, curved body that sits in the palm or a coat pocket, with a hinged lid and a removable inner ring.

What it was for

Containers like this come from the era when tuberculosis was Europe's leading cause of death. From the late 19th century spitting was banned in streets, trains and inns — by then it was known the disease travelled in sputum. Anyone who coughed carried their own vessel.

The lid closes tightly on its hinge, the inner ring lifted out for cleaning. The curved form is not decoration but ergonomics: it lies flat against the body and does not press.

Why it is a good object

It is medical history you can hold — an everyday item that no longer exists because the problem went away. As a collecting field it belongs with medical antiques, where it is sought after.