Jars held loose tobacco

The terra cotta tobacco jar by Jon Maresch, shaped like a smiling black dog is marked JM#116 and sold at Fox Auctions for $240.
The terra cotta tobacco jar by Jon Maresch, shaped like a smiling black dog is marked JM#116 and sold at Fox Auctions for $240.

Many figural tobacco jars were made in the late 1800s and early 1900s, marked with just the letters “JM” or the letters and the printed word “Bohemia” or “Czechoslovakia.” The jars held loose pipe tobacco, but they were not humidors made to control humidity.

The figural jars are about 18 to 20 inches high with small statues of children seated in chairs, a dog in a barrel, a man drinking beer, even …