Collectible Vintage Marketing Ashtray

This ashtray is from the collection of Dr. Paul Gregory. The collection is immense and numbers in the tens of thousands, easily the largest such collection in the world. We are working with his widow, Mrs. Judy Gregory, in sorting, documenting, and listing for sale this vast collection. This represents an unparalleled opportunity for collectors to find rare mid-century advertising glass ashtrays.

Dr. Paul Gregory was more interested in his career as an anesthesiologist and flying back seat in a Navy F-4 during his time in service, but collecting ashtrays was a fun

diversion from the serious side of life. It all started in an era when companies saw ashtrays as a method of advertising. If they ended up in someone's home, more

people would see their logo and think about them.

When Paul was a teenager, his uncle gave him an ashtray from a favorite Chinese restaurant, and that started a collection that lasted over the next 6-7 decades. For a

couple of decades it was just a fun diversion, but it eventually grew into a purposeful pursuit. He limited his collection to those ashtrays with business logos, whether it was a large company or casino or just a local restaurant around the corner. He would haunt antique stores all over the country, depending on his travels. During the following

decades he discovered e-Bay and other on-line sites, and his collection grew by leaps and bounds. After retirement he had unlimited time to search, and he used that time to its fullest, resulting in what is probably an unrivaled collection.