A souvenir ashtray with an image of Sedina

At the end of the 19th century, as the development of local tourism accelerated and mass culture began to form, travel souvenirs became increasingly fashionable, as they were a popular commodity for the purchaser, reminding them of interesting domestic or foreign trips. In individual cases, such items had a high artistic value, the vast majority of them were produced using the factory system. To this day, printed porcelain ashtrays are classic travel souvenirs. They have remained popular for many years, but their form and style of representation or decoration has changed. Such souvenirs were also sold in the former Szczecin. At the time, they left the city with the tourists who acquired them; today, covered by the patina of time, though still in good condition, they find their way into the collection of the Szczecin History Museum, donated by their current owners. An example of such a story is the ashtray on display, depicting Martktplatz (now Tobrucki Square) with the famous Szczecin fountain by Ludwig Manzl (1858-1936), showing the mythical goddess Sedina on a boat, with a sailing mast supported by a barge, accompanied by the god of trade Mercury, nymphs and sea monsters. The name of the goddess, invented in the 19th century to personify the maritime and trading character of Szczecin, was said to derive from the Sidins, a Germanic tribe from ancient times who, according to later chroniclers, were supposed to be the founders of the city on the Odra River. The 14-metre-high fountain soon became a symbol of the city and its landmark, eagerly placed on the trademarks of local businesses, but also on tourist souvenirs. The size of the recesses in the presented specimen suggests that the ashtray may have been used not only for cigarettes, but also for cigarillos and cigars. Małgorzata Peszko