Monday, September 6, 2010

Ronson Tablelighter Banjo, 1927


The Ronson "Tablelighter" came in two versions that can be distinguished by the applied lighter fitment: Banjo and De-Light. The older version (Banjo fitment) of the Ronson "Tablelighter" also called Ronson Banjo Table Lighter was manufactured between 1927 and 1928 in Newark, New Jersey, USA. It was one of the earliest tabletop automatic lighter in the world.

The lighter was made of brass and silver plated. The front and rear panel were covered with snake and Marocco leather. Some of the examples were left without covering.

The casing of the Banjo Lighter was designed by L.V. Aronson and patented on the 17th May 1927 (filled for patent on 2nd February, 1927). The illustration below shows a side elevation of the lighter and an edge view. It comes from the granted patent no. 72,658.


The bottom is padded with green felt. The lighter is marked on the snuffer:

RONSON LIGHTER
P'T'D DEC, 31,1918
OTHER PAT'S P'D'G

as well on the fuel screw on the bottom:

RONSON LIGHTER
PAT. NO 72,658 MAY 17,1927

Type: petrol (wick) lighter

Scarcity: very rare

Value for very good–mint condition: 1 412 zł–600.00 (approx 1 212 zł–450.00)

Weight: 150 grams (0.33 pounds)

Dimensions:
  • height: 12.3 cm (4.8")
  • width: 6.5 cm (2.6")
  • depth: 3.4 cm (1.3")
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2 comments:

  1. Anonymous18 December, 2022

    The prices seem to be character corrupted in some of the listings. 1 412 z()-600 where () is some strange character is unreadable. Is that supposed to be $412-600? My most recent book on lighters suggests $150-275 for one. Most I've seen are trying to get over $300 in 2022.

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  2. Anonymous04 January, 2023

    I own both versions of the "Banjo" table lighter (Banjo and De-Light) in similarly excellent condition (after a bit of silver polish and cleaning both look and function great). I'm wondering what year Ronson stopped making this particular table lighter. The tabourette (which I also have) is listed as 1928-1932. Other sites show 1927, but that makes no sense since that's when the "banjo" mechanism was used and the tabourette only comes in De-Light and Standard fitments (mine is De-Light Chromium in almost mint condition).

    An ad on here listed as 1931 is shown elsewhere as 1929. I believe 1931 is correct based on what's shown. Even my book by Schneider seems to get the years wrong for 1927 versus 1928 for the Tabourette.

    Also, the price listed seems corrupted here somehow (font?)

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