Verceram - Ashtray (3) - Ceramic, Glaze, Plastic, Glass

lot of 3 vintage ashtrays

1) A stunning pipe ashtray in black ceramic from the historic French ceramic manufacturer Verceram, based in Montreuil (in the Paris region), active between the 1930s and the early 1970s.
Dates to the 1950s/1960s.
The original company archives have been almost completely lost; cataloging the pieces today is done by studying the rare vintage catalogs that remain and by analyzing the numeric codes stamped on the bottom. Their typical glossy glazes tend to scratch very easily; in this case the marks are indeed minimal. The item is today a rarity highly valued by mid-century modern collectors.
Dimensions: about 17 x 13 x 4 cm.

2) Vintage advertising ashtray in glass from Union de Banques à Paris (UBP). These ashtrays were made in solid pressed transparent glass as promotional gadgets for important clients, a common practice in offices and European bank branches from the 1960s to the 1980s.

3) Vintage advertising ashtray in red plastic from the 1980s, branded for Australian Winfield cigarettes, produced in France (with Bourbon design).