The Maher’s ashtray collection on display
IHOP’s first logo was used from 1958–1982
Chubby the Champ was created as the mascot for Lynwood’s Clock Broiler in 1941
Ashtrays from McDonald’s; Route 66, and the Claremont Bowl, among others.
Mabel’s Whorehouse speaks to the legality of brothel-based prostitution in some Nevada counties (though not in Las Vegas itself).
“There is just something really funny to me to think about eating a couple of chicken soft tacos then lighting up a Marlboro!”
“The toilet is made in Mexico and is part of another collection of art we have, Talavera…it seemed fitting to get an ashtray too.”
Souvenirs from Las Vegas hotels, the Sahara and Tropicana, alongside a six-sided amber glass Art Deco ashtray.
ASHTRAYS
Tony and Jenn Maher
Photography
What do the Hotel Tropicana, the White-Mullen Mortuary, and Del Taco have in common? Although an equation between gambling, fast food, and death might be possible here, the answer is…ashtrays.
At some point in the last sixty years, each of these businesses invested in an advertising campaign that featured their name and logo on a handsome glass ashtray. As did McDonalds, The International House of Pancakes (IHOP), the Aladdin Hotel and Casino, Los Jarritos Restaurant, Madonna Inn, the Loveless Café, and many more.
Sixty years ago, almost half of U.S. adults smoked, so ashtrays “were an interesting use of advertising,” says Tony Maher, who curates an ashtray collection with his wife Jenn. “Plus, lots of places would let you just keep them. A kind of door prize, I guess.”
“There is definitely a sense of humor in lots of our choices,” said Tony. “A toilet ashtray. A donkey ashtray. An ashtray from a whorehouse. Oh, and the fact that we don’t smoke.”
There’s Chubby the Champ (“Twice as Big, twice as good”) for example, a burger in boxing gloves who adorns an ashtray from the Clock Broiler. Located in Lynwood, CA, the Broiler’s carhops wore ostrich feathers in their hats and Harvey and Minnie Ortner, its founders, went on to create famous Downey hangout Harvey’s Broiler.
The largest diner/drive-in in Southern California in the late 1950s, the Broiler was a hub for cruising culture. As described by Tom Wolfe: "They cruise around in their cars…boys and girls, showing each other the latest in fashions…Teenage Paris! Harvey’s Drive-in!"
As Jenn and Tony’s collection shows, cigarette smoke swirls through the DNA of California’s hospitality industries. There’s an ashtray from McDonald’s (est. 1948), IHOP (1958), Del Taco (1964). Sahara Hotel and Casino (1952), Hotel Tropicana (1957), California Club (1958), the Aladdin (1966), the El Dorado (1973), and Mabel’s Whore House, Las Vegas. Fast food and fast living.
“To be honest I am not sure why we started collecting ashtrays. I think it started in Las Vegas…maybe fifteen years ago,” Tony explained. “We’ve always been attracted to the art style of the 1960’s, Las Vegas and the Rat Pack.” “Sure, we can talk about the history of where they came from, or the time periods, but really [for us] it is more about how they symbolize our [vacation] adventures…our sense of humor and our sense of adventure.”
Asked if he has ever smoked, Tony says: “I stopped rather early on…You know, breathing and all is pretty important.”