More than ever smoking in the 20s, 30s and 40s was a social capable thing. As well as a „little drug“ for the pur workers or a semi-luxury items for the rich and famous, smoking of cigarettes and cigars got weir spread words of encouragement. Smoking belong to the everyday scenery of this era. It nearly reached the status of „good behavior“. Very often the obligatory cigarette was shown in many advertisements (fashion, sport, sparetime,...). Women discovered smoking as a kind of emancipation in the 20s. Long cigarette-holders, futuristic looking, exclusive ashtrays and expensive lighters completed the cigarettes boom at this times. Smoking was „elegant“. No party, no feast without enough cigarettes which were offered to the guests by the host/ess. Who ever watched old films may notice that there is no minute without a cigarette appearing on the screen. Old and well known German cigarttes are Salem, Eckstein, Finas, Nil and Camel, and American like Chesterfield, Lucky Strike and of course Camel. Filter cigarettes were not much known in the beginning. They first became more famous in America during the 40s. Oval oriental cigarettes like Finas were most popular in Germany in the 30s and early 40s. The cigarettes came along in soft packets with 5 or 10 pieces. Today known self-made cigarettes didn’t convinced the market in the 20s – 40s in Europe. But they were quite famous among the American cowboys for example. An other species were the pipe smokers. Mainly intellectual people prefered this kind of smoking (e.g. the Shelock Holmes figure). At any time smoking was known as bad for health. There are also several sequnces in old movies that pointed on this problem. So be strong - quit smoking or even better: don’t start smoking! 

In this meaning: quit or better don't start smoking and fill the below "self-made boxes" with chocolate cigarettes (also suitable as presents):
 

1.) The vintage "Swingstyle Cigarette Box": 

For this download the self-extracting MS-Word file (zbogen.exe) or the gif. file (zbogen.gif). Eeach file is approx. 550 kb tall. The Word file has the advantage that it already provides an image in correct size. Perhaps the gif. image has to be scaled with a graphics program.

download MS-Word document (zbogen.exe)

download Gif-file (zbogen.gif)
(use right mouse button: "Save ... as")

2.) An original "Tophat" Cigarette Box from the 30s:

How to build the „Swingstyle 41“ Cigarettes-Box:

To understand the folding make a test print with less resolution in grey style on normal paper. Engrave the „fold lines“ with a hard but not to sharp tool (e.g. Letter opener, butter-knife (backside of tip)). Use a ruler as a guide rail for the long and straight lines. Do this before cutting the parts out of the sheet. Work with precision! Then cut out the parts exactly around their outlines. Use a cutter/skalpell or a sharp hobby knife in combination with the ruler as a guide rail. As well cut along the scissors lines. 
Look at a standard cigarette box to make sure how to fold and where to glue the box. At last glue into the lower half of the completed box the white u-form box lock. Let the text "www.swingstyle.de" look over the border of the lower box front. If the result looks like a cigarette box you’ve done it! Now you can make a print in best color quality on a thicker and stiff white paper (beware of the instructions of your printer telling you what is the most thick paper you can print on!). As thicker the paper as better the box. Proceed like before.