Dunhill Tinder Pistol Lighter, 1936

The Dunhill Tinder Pistol is a fine example of an extraordinary table lighter which is in the shape of a flintlock tinder (gun) pistol from the XVIII century. It is made of brass and it has a antique brass finish and a nice oak slab handle (butt). The lighter has a very precise trigger activated mechanism - the top opens and sparks when the trigger is pulled. The Dunhill Tinder Pistol wick lighter was manufactured both in England and USA from ca. 1936 until the early 1960's.

It is worth to know, that the earliest lighters were actually tinder pistols invented in the mid-seventeenth century (example). They were made from broken guns and used the barrel to store tinder instead of gunpowder. The working mechanism was simple though not very save to use at home - the trigger released a mechanism that struck a piece of iron and directed the sparks onto the tinder which ignite.

The Dunhill Tinder Pistol Lighter was replicated in Japan - it was manufactured in the 1950s and was on the first spot indistinguishable from the original. Fortunately, the marking "Japan" on the bottom dissolves all doubts.

It is also worth to know that Dunhill manufactured also a gas (butane) version of this lighter in the late 1960s which is nowadays rare to find.

Type: petrol (wick) lighter

Writing on the base:

DUNHILL
TINDER PISTOL
MADE IN U.S.A.
PAT. APL'D FOR

or

DUNHILL
TINDER PISTOL
MADE IN ENGLAND
PATENT NO. 592139

Scarcity: uncommon–rare

Value for good–mint condition: $175.00–250.00 (approx €120.00–190.00)

Weight: 313 grams (0.69 pounds)

Dimensions:

• height: 10.0 cm (3.0")
• width: 6.0 cm (2.36")
• depth: 14.3 cm (4.0")