ASR, Colibri, Dunhill, Dupont, Evans, Negbaur, MTC, Rolstar, Ronson, Rowenta, Zippo and many others... Price guide included! You will also find books, catalogs, patents and magazine advertisements on lighters!
The links refer to amazon.com but if you are from a different country you may use your local amazon store. The recommended lighter accessories can be also bought at eBay and your local tobacco store.
This modern Cartier Paris 303 Table Lighter was made in the late 1990s by Cartier S.A. in Switzerland. It is an oval shaped semiautomatic table lighter made in brush silver finish with a gold plated ring on the top.
Cartier is renowned French luxury jeweler and watch manufacturer founded in Paris in 1847 by Louis-François Cartier when he took over the workshop of his master. The product range of Cartier ranges today from timepieces, leather goods to accessories such as cigarette lighters.
It is marked on the bottom:
Cartier Paris 303
SWISS MADE
SN
Type: gas (butane) lighter
Scarcity: uncommon
Value for mint condition: $350.00–400.00 (approx €250.00–300.00)
The Ronson Bolero Set was manufactured between 1954 and 1955 in Newark, United States of America. The set (model no. 43625) consists of a wick table lighter and a matching ash-tray which was also available seperate (model no. 43637).
The lighter base as well the ashtray are handmade of glazed ceramic in two colors: brown on the bottom and oatmeal-gray on the top. The lighter insert is a chromed plated Ronson Essex marked on the bottom:
RONSON (R)
NEWARK, N.J. U.S.A.
U.S. PATENTS
2,481,195 & 2,715,329
The base of the table lighter has a silver sticker on the bottom:
(R) RONSON
Newark, N.J.
U.S.A.
or
Ronson Bolero Toronto, Canada.
The bottoms of both the base of the lighter and ashtray are padded with green felt.
Other unique ceramic sets made by Ronson beside the Bolero Set were called Tropicanaand Fiesta which are also rare. In England a similar set to the Bolero Set was manufactured, although it was called Ronson Wade Harmony Set.
Worth to know is that the Bolero lighter was featured in the great American movie "Breakfast at Tiffany's".
Type: petrol (wick) lighter
Scarcity: rare
Value for good–mint condition (set): 201 zł–90.00 (approx 187 zł–75.00)
The United Bovano Cheshire Automobile table lighter was manufactured in 1957 United States by United Findings Co. Inc. and Bovano of Cheshire, Connecticut.
The wick lighter insert was provided by United. The colorful handy base was however crafted by Bovano of Cheshire which started its business in 1952 and which is still active today. The company was founded by Bonsignor, Van Leight and Noden. It is designing and hand crafting high quality wall and table sculptures using powdered glass fused to small copper plates and glass.
The lighter base is hand enameled (pulverized glass) in three different colors using a delicate sprinkling method layered over solid copper and then kiln fired which makes the base look vitreous and noble.
The lighter insert is removable and covered with a gold-tone lacquer. Marked on the underside:
MADE IN U.S.A.
UNITED
PAT. 2,723,547
The base is padded with brown felt. A gold sticker is attached to it:
HANDCRAFTED
BY
Bovano
OF CHESHIRE
CONN.
Type: petrol (wick) lighter
Scarcity: rare
Value for very good–mint condition: $30.00–45.00 (approx €20.00–30.00)
The Ronson Touch-Tip 'Octette' table lighter was made between 1935 and 1951 by Ronson / Art Metal Works Inc. in Newark, New Jersey in the United States. This lighter began a very successful era for Ronson T-T series of lighters which pushed out the strike lighters from the market. During the years the 'Octette' model changed slightly: at the beginning it was manufactured with a rectangular cover over the flint wheel and a round-shaft wand. Since the 1942 the cover over the flint wheel was half circled and the wand had a square shaft and a tapered cone knob (see pictures).
The 'Octette' has a genuine pure Art Deco design. It is very heavy although its relatively small dimensions. Fitment and base are made of polished chrome and the metal body was finished in different enamels: black (most popular), tortoise or white. Less popular finishes include: green, maroon enamel and many others. The polished center monogram shield was on one side.
It was available in many various configurations including pipe racks, cigarette boxes pipe holders, figures (golfer), thermometer, clock etc.
The lighter base is padded with green felt and marked:
RONSON "Touch-Tip" (R) TRADE MARK MFD BY RONSON NEWARK, N.J., U.S.A.
U.S. PATS. 1,986,754-2,118,692
BRIT.PAT. 435,667 - CANADA PAT. 349,108
OTHER U.S. & FOR. PATS. PDG.
or RONSON TOUCH-TIP - U.S.PATS.1,986,/54-DES/GN PAT. 97,247
BRITISH PAT.APPL'D.FOR-CANDA PAT.349,148
ART METAL WORKS INC - NEWARK, N.J. U.S.A.
Lighter mechanism marked:
(R) RONSON "Touch-Tip"
NEWARK, N.J., U.S.A.
U.S. PATS. 1,986,754-2,118,692
BRIT.PAT. 435,667 - CANADA PAT. 349,108
OTHER U.S. & FOR. PATS. PDG.
This Ronson magazine advertisement was published in LifeMagazine on the 24th of March, 1952. It shows among others three table/desk lighters; the Ronson Leona, Juno and Senator.
Being a lighter collector you may experience a natural hunger for expanding your collection into related areas. Armed with an appreciation of design, mass media and a need for displaying your collection you may come across with another very collectible field: vintage magazine ads. This area of collecting is expanding rapidly as the ads can be also used as an interesting way to decorate homes or businesses. Vintage nostalgia does the trick!
Most of the best colorful full-page ads do come from these popular magazines:
Life (1936),
The Saturday Evening Post (1821),
Esquire (1932),
Time (1923),
Ebony (1945),
Punch, or the London Charivari (1841),
Collier's Weekly (1888),
Better Homes and Gardens (1922),
Look (1937–1971),
Plaisir de France (1934–1974),
L'Illustration (1843–1944).
If you have some old issues of the above mentioned magazines it worth a try to have a look into them. If you do not have them the best and simplest way to get your favorite lighters ads is eBay. The best search term is the word "ad" ("advert" in UK) along with other more specific search term like "Ronson", "lighter", "Dunhill" etc. The cost of one ad in most cases is between 5–10 USD. When you live in the United States it is also worth to visit garage sales and libraries as they start to digitize their resources and withdraw magazines – when you are lucky enough you may get a bargain.
If your ad was not very rare you might wish to have it framed. If you have doubts about putting the original ad into the frame (because of fading etc.) you should think about making a 1:1 copy which should cost you additional 2–3 USD. When framing please remember about passe-partout (2–3 inches; 5–7 cm wide) – the ad looks much better with it and you might hide the ads imperfections as well. You may also try frameless glass frames.
What is the best way to storage (archive) old magazine adverts?How to care on vintage ads? This question often appears as paper turns yellow and deteriorates over time. Exposure to light and heat break the molecules in the acidic paper even faster. To make the unwanted process as slow a possible just follow these three steps:
Put every ad into an individual transparent polypropylene (PP) sleeve protector or clear smudge proof pockets (A3 format is commonly available) and place a black backer board behind it. This is a good idea if you sometimes want to look at your ads and show them to your friends without the risk that they get stained, teared or bended. Most old ads are printed on a thin paper which also shows through some text and graphics from the other site – black backer board should help present them without this flaw. Do not use PVC sleeve protectors as they are not acid free and can harm your ads in long-term.
Place your protected magazines ads into a photo archive storage box. These boxes are made with acid-free material and will help prevent deterioration of your magazine ads.
The box with your ads should be stored in room temperature in a dry, dark place. Voilà!
Below a sample of 60 different Ronson ads.
Great ads were also made by ASR, Zippo (biggest advertiser), Dunhill, Evans, Scripto, Ritepoint, Berkeley, Flaminaire Quercia, Torence, Silver Match, Lancel (France), Mylflam and Rowenta (Germany) in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s. In the later years nice ads were published among others by Colibri (UK) Cartier, S.T. Dupont (France) and Braun (Germany).
This Zippo ad was published in LifeMagazine on the 14th of December, 1953. It features Zippo pocket lighters as well as the Barcroft model no. 3 table lighter. This layout was used in more than 50 other Zippo advertisements.
This Ronson magazine advertisement was published in LifeMagazine on the 27th of March, 1950. It features among others the Ronson Crown table lighter, Penciliter etc.
This Ronson table lighter was made in 1968 in England by Ronson and Wedgwood. The Ronson Varaflame Wedgwood 'Ulysses' has a chrome plated standard Varaflame insert which is mounted in Wedgwood Blue Jasper base with overlaid design –heroic battle scene – in white ceramic. In the 1950s Ronson & Wedgwood used the same scene in its Ulysses wick lighter.
Wedgwood is a British pottery firm, founded on May 1, 1759 by Josiah Wedgwood (1730–95). The company still exists and is noted for its numerous innovations and high-quality wares that achieved renown throughout the world. Wedgwood's name is synonymous with the Jasper Ware body type.
The main themes on the company's jasper ware have all been taken from ancient mythologies: Roman, Greek or Egyptian or Italian Renaissance and Baroque The initial decision to have antique designs was probably that as Britain entered an age of great industrialization, the demand for luxurious goods subsequently exploded. Meanwhile, the archeological fever caught the imagination of many artists. Nothing could have been more suitable to satisfy this huge business demand than to produce replicas of artefacts. Wedgwoods pottery is very collectible nowadays.
The lighter base is padded with light blue felt. Marked with a sticker on the bottom of the base:
RONSON (R)
Regd. trade mark
MADE IN ENGLAND
Lighter insert marked:
RONSON
MADE IN W. GERMANY
PATENTED
RONSON (R)
Type: gas (butane) lighter
Scarcity: uncommon
Value for good–mint condition: $50.00–80.00 (approx €35.00–60.00)
This Ronson magazine advertisement was published in Life magazine on the 27th of October, 1947. It depicts the Ronson 'Crown' table lighter and some pocket lighters like: Ronson 'Mastercase', Ronson 'Adonis', Ronson 'Whirlwind' and the Ronson 'Standard'.
This wick table lighter – Parker Roller Bacon 'Exide' – was made by Parker Pipe Co. in England in ca. 1938. The improved lift-arm mechanism with thumb-roller was patented by Parker in England in 1937. This type of semi-automatic mechanism was also very often used in Dunhill Lighters.
The lighter has cylindrical shape and is made of brass and nickel plated. It has a large fill capacity for lighter fluid. The example showed on the right was made for EXIDE – a very popular English battery manufacturer. This table lighter was available in different finishes (textures, leather types etc).
The lighter base is padded with green felt. Marked on the bottom of the base:
PARKER ROLLER BACON REG. DES 818717 PAT.NO 466087 MADE IN ENGLAND
Type: wick (petrol) lighter
Scarcity: rare
Value for good–mint condition: $50.00–90.00 (approx €35.00–70.00)
Below some vintage television commercial issued by the Ronson Corporation in the 1960s. The first one presents the Ronson Varaflame (1962), the second presents part of the lighter range and the Ronson electric shaver (1960). The last one is the Boris Karloff's Ronson Comet Lighter Torture Test (1966).
This Ronson magazine advertisement was published in LifeMagazine on the 25th of May, 1959. It features the new Ronson Varaflame pocket lighter in different finishes. It is probably the most recognizable pocket lighter in the world next to the Zippo.
This Piezoelectric butane table lighter was first manufactured by the Karl Wieden Company (KW or KAWEE) in 1970 in Solingen, Germany.
This automatic table lighter was available in different mantels: silver, nickel plated, enameled etc. The picture on the right shows a KW in sterling silver (.925) mantel in an interesting hair texture. The base is not weighted. Marked on the side: STERLING 925F.
The KW butane removable lighter insert ispiezoelectric and chrome-plated. Marked on the bottom:
KW KAWEE
MADE IN GERMANY
Type: gas (butane) lighter
Scarcity: uncommon
Value for very good – mint condition (dependent on finish): $75.00–120.00 (approx €60.00–90.00)
This Bone China 'Evans Rose' table lighter decorated with delicate hand painted pink roses and gold elements on a white background was designed and manufactured by Evans U.S.A. in 1952. This model came also in other hand paintings.
The Evans gold-tone brass insert is a typical wick lighter. It uses the new fitment with the red seal - fuel control. It is marked: EVANS U.S.A. U.S. PAT. REG. 19023
The base of the lighter is made of white glazed bone china which is a type of porcelain that is composed of bone ash, feldspathic material and kaolin. This kind of porcelain is known for its high levels of whiteness and translucency and very high mechanical strength and chip resistance.
Type: wick (petrol) lighter
Scarcity: common
Value for good–mint condition: $20.00–30.00 (approx €15.00–20.00)
This Ronson magazine advertisement was published in Life magazine on the 25th of May, 1959. It depicts the Ronson Varaflame table lighter models: Futura, Meteor, Grecian and Four Seasons.
Thisceramic Royal Doulton Falstaff Table Lighter was designed by H. Fenton and issued between 1958 and 1973 in England. It is a fine example of the great variety of character jugs/table lighters manufactured exclusively by Royal Doulton Company which is an English company producing tableware and collectables, dating to 1815. Operating originally in London, its reputation grew in The Potteries, where it was a latecomer compared to Spode, Wedgwood and Minton. The Royal Doulton Company began as a partnership between John Doulton, Martha Jones, and John Watts, with a factory at Vauxhall Walk, Lambeth, London. The company took the name Doulton in 1853.
Other character Royal Doulton table lighters are in the shape of: Bacchus, Beefeater, Buz Fuz, Cap'n Cuttle, Captain Ahab, Lawyer, Long Jhon Silver, Mr Micawber, Mr Pickwick, Old Charley, Poacher Porthos, Rip Van Winkle.
It is worth to know that Falstaff (Sir John Falstaff) is a fictional character who appears in three plays by William Shakespeare as a companion to Prince Hal, the future King Henry V. A fat, vain, boastful, and cowardly knight, Falstaff leads the apparently wayward Prince Hal into trouble, and is ultimately repudiated after Hal becomes king.
The lighter base is marked on the bottom:
MADE IN ENGLAND
ROYAL DOULTON
ENGLAND
Falstaff
Copr 1949
Doulton & Co Limited
Rd No 857578
Rd No 5905
Rd No 75/49
The brass wick lighter insert was provided by Colibri afamous English lighter manufacturer. The company was established by Julius Löwenthal in 1928. Colibri delivered the lighter insert which was produced in France and W. Germany. Royal Doulton also cooperated with Evans Co. and Ronson. The lighter insert is marked:
Colibri by Kreisler
U.S. PAT
12.267182
U.S. Zone
WEST GERMANY
Type: wick (petrol) lighter
Scarcity: uncommon–rare
Value for mint condition: $90.00–130.00 (approx €70.00–90.00)
This Ronson magazine advertisement was published in Life magazine on the 29th of November, 1968. It depicts the Ronson Eurolite Varaflame Table Lighter. Great simple design.
This modern Cartier Paris 303 Table Lighter was made in the late 1990s by Cartier S.A. in Switzerland. It is an oval shaped semiautomatic table lighter made in brush silver finish with a gold plated ring on the top.
The Ronson Bolero Set was manufactured between 1954 and 1955 in Newark, United States of America. The set (model no. 43625) consists of a wick table lighter and a matching ash-tray which was also available seperate (model no. 43637).
The lighter base is padded with green felt and marked:
This Ronson table lighter was made in 1968 in England by Ronson and Wedgwood. The Ronson Varaflame Wedgwood 'Ulysses' has a chrome plated standard Varaflame insert which is mounted in Wedgwood Blue Jasper base with overlaid design – heroic battle scene – in white ceramic. In the 1950s Ronson & Wedgwood used the same scene in its Ulysses wick lighter. 
This wick table lighter – Parker Roller Bacon 'Exide' – was made by Parker Pipe Co. in England in ca. 1938. The improved lift-arm mechanism with thumb-roller was patented by Parker in England in 1937. This type of semi-automatic mechanism was also very often used in Dunhill Lighters.
This Bone China 'Evans Rose' table lighter decorated with delicate hand painted pink roses and gold elements on a white background was designed and manufactured by Evans U.S.A. in 1952. This model came also in other hand paintings.
The lighter base is marked on the bottom:
