"Still lifes" postcards with table lighters, 1969

Here is a quite interesting series of three postcards designed and printed in West Germany between 1969 an 1971 by Krüger. The still life photos share similar elements, among others: flowers, alcohol, cigars/cigarettes and... lighters:

(1) Erhard (Schwäbisch Gmünd) und Consul gas table lighter produced since 1968.
(2) Esprit pocket lighter produced since 1950.
(3) Any ideas?

Gift Book, Ronson Pioneer and Typhoon, 1960

This Ronson advertisement comes from the "Gift Book" catalog from the 1960. It depicts a part of the new Ronson Typhoon and Pioneer pocket and table/desk cigarette lighters range.

Ronson Varaflame Claridge, Wood, 1966

The Ronson Varaflame Claridge was first introduced in 1966 in England. The production ceased in 1969. The base of the lighter was made of two specially selected cotrasting woods. The curved design of the lighter is similar to the Varaflame Jupiter which also was manufactured in the 1960s.

The removable lighter insert – the Varaflame – is chrome-plated and has a fingertip flame control. The insert is fastened to the base with a black plastic screw.

Type: butane (gas) lighter

Writing on the underside of the base:

RONSON (R)
REGD. TRADE MARK

MADE IN ENGLAND

Scarcity: uncommon

Value for good–mint condition: $25.00–40.00 (approx €20.00–35.00)

Weight: 130 grams (0.29 pounds)

Dimensions:

• height: 6.0 cm (2.36")
• width: 9.2 cm (3.6")
• depth: 3.6 cm (1.42")

Evans 'Hitching Post' Table Lighter, 1956

This fine bone China Porcelain Evans 'Hitching Post' table lighter was designed and manufactured by Evans in the U.S.A. between 1956 and 1961. During the years of manufacture two different versions were produced with small changes to the bottom of the lighter base.

The lighter was marketed as a gift set for a gentleman. The 3-piece set consisted of a lighter and matching urn and ashtray (no. EC310W1029 or EC-123). The lighter was also available separately (EC311W735 or EC-124) in white or black China.

The Evans gold-tone brass insert uses a wick lighter with a red seal which is a patented fuel control.

The base of the lighter in shape of a horse which is often seen  on decorative hitching posts (it is a post to which a horse may be tethered to prevent it from straying). The China base is marked  with the Evans logo.

The entire body of this lighter is a very big fuel reservoir.

Type: wick (petrol) lighter

Scarcity: uncommon

Value for very good–mint condition: $60.00–90.00 (approx. €40.00–60.00); set: $90.00–120.00

Weight:

• 340 grams (12 oz)

Dimensions:

• height: 18 cm (7")
• diameter: 7.6 cm (3")
  

FAQ: KKW / Lumix Camera Lighter Instruction, ca. 1965

Below an instruction for the Lumix Camera Lighter that was manufactured in Japan in the mid. 1960s. The instruction can be also used with the Japanese KKW Camera Lighter (Photo-Liter, butane gas version only!) and AKW DII Type Perfect Camera Lighter.

Advert: Ronson Varaflame Premier & Rafale Pocket Lighters, 1960

This Ronson magazine advertisement was published in an unknown French magazine in 1960. It depicts Ronson pocket butane lighter models such as: Varaflame Premier and Rafale.

Advert: Ronson Varaflame Lighters, 1960

A full page Ronson magazine advertisement published on 26th December 1960 in an unknown British magazine. The advert features among others Judy Huxtable and two butane table lighters:

• Ronson Varaflame Queen Anne (6),
• Ronson Varaflame Adelphi (8).

Westinghouse "Escort" Radio Clock Lighter, 1962

The "Escort" (model no. RS21P08) was made by Westinghouse Electric Company in Pittsburgh, Pa and was first sold in 1962 for a $30 which now adjusted by the inflation rate would be more than $220. This "Swiss army knife of radios" is relatively small and light for its functionality from these days. The case is made of modern plastic and the speaker grill of metal.

Marketed as the great personal gift for all occasions. It is unusual as it is a portable combination of a:

• solid state 8 transistor AM radio,
• Swiss made watch,
• dependable flashlight,
• handy cigarette lighter,
• built-in rechargeable for AA batteries.

Westinghouse Electric was an American manufacturing company. It was founded in 1886 as Westinghouse Electric Company and later renamed Westinghouse Electric Corporation by George Westinghouse. The company purchased CBS in 1995 and became CBS Corporation in 1997. George Westinghouse had previously founded the Westinghouse Air Brake Company. The company pioneered long-distance power transmission and high-voltage transmission. 

Type: electric lighter

Scarcity: rare

Value for very good–mint condition: $60.00–90.00 (approx €45.00–70.00)

Weight: 400 grams (0,88 lb)

Dimensions:

• height: 8.2 cm (3.2")
• width: 11 cm (4.3")
• depth: 3.2 cm (1.3")

Advert: Colibri Lighters, 1964

This Colibri magazine advertisement was published in The Illustrated London News on the 14th of November, 1964. It presents a part of the great Colibri pocket and table lighters assortment, like the monopol, monogas and minigas models.

Advert: Ronson Pioneer Table & Pocket Lighter, 1961

This Ronson magazine advertisement was published in 1961 in Life Magazine. It shows the rather unsuccessful series of the Pioneer pocket and table lighters manufactured in the USA since 1960.

Ronson Varaflame Wedgwood Ulysses Table Lighter, 1968

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)

Weight: 290 grams (0.64 pounds)

Dimensions:

• height: 6.3 cm (2.5")
• diameter: 8.8 cm (3.5")

Vintage Ronson TV commercials

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).

Advert: Ronson Varaflame Futura, Meteor, Grecian and Four Seasons Lighters, 1959

This Ronson magazine advertisement was published in Life magazine on the 25^th of May, 1959. It depicts the Ronson Varaflame table lighter models: Futura, Meteor, Grecian and Four Seasons.

Royal Doulton Table Lighter, Falstaff, 1958

This ceramic 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 a famous 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)

Weight: 300 grams (0.66 pounds)

Dimensions:

• height: 11 cm (4.3")
• width: 11 cm (4.3")
• depth: 8 cm (3.2")

Advert: Ronson Eurolite Table Lighter, 1968

This Ronson magazine advertisement was published in Life magazine on the 29^th of November, 1968. It depicts the Ronson Eurolite Varaflame Table Lighter. Great simple design.

K.K.W. Camera Lighter, 1948

The K.K.W. Camera Lighter was first manufactured in 1948 in Occupied Japan. Primely it was available as a wick lighter - in 1958 the butane version of the lighter was introduced (see picture) and manufactured till the end of the 1960s. The camera lighter was available with a compass on front and without which was a cheaper version. 

It is for sure one of the best examples of Japanese craftsmanship. It is very well detailed and the materials used are good quality. The shutter button works the lighter and it can be locked by using the red button on the front which is marked open - lock. Spare flints can be kept under the large nurled knob on top.

The camera lighter is in the shape of a camera and was designed for both table and pocket as the tripod and cable release can be easily unscrewed. The body was made of metal with black crackle finish and polished metal trim. It was only available as a set: lighter, cable release and camera lighter.

Marked on the bottom of the camera lighter:

K.K.W
P.P 
13449 

On the earlier wick lighter version the camera and the tripod were marked:

Made in Occupied Japan

The plastic cover was marked: Peace-Gas (gas lighter) or Photo-Flash (wick lighter)

Type: gas (butane) lighter & wick (petrol) lighter

Scarcity: common–uncommon

Value for very good–mint condition (set): $40.00–75.00 (approx €30.00–55.00)

Weight: 75 grams (0.17 lbs), set: 97 grams (0.21 lbs)

Dimensions:

Cigarette Lighter:

• height: 4.1 cm (1.6")
• width: 6.7 cm (2.6")
• depth: 1.8 cm (0.7")

Lighter including tripod and cable release:

• height: 2.0 cm (0.8")
• width: 8.9 cm (3.5")
• depth: 7 cm (2.8")

Advert: Zippo lighters inc. Zippo Moderne + Corinthian, 1961

This Zippo advertisement was published in the Christmas edition of LIFE magazine on the 8th December 1961. Between different Zippo pocket lighters there are two table lighters - the Zippo Moderne and Zippo Corinthian (in the center).

Braun Cylindric T2 Table Lighter, Dieter Rams, 1968

The Braun Cylindric T2 Table Lighter was manufactured in between 1968 and 1970 by Braun AG in Frankfurt, Germany and also in Ireland. It was inspired by the development of the invention of the magnetic ignition technology. The table lighter was available in many various finishes like: painted metal, plain chrome plated steel and in diamond texture (see picture). The whole type specification:

• 6822 / 272  metal silver-plated, lengthwise ruffled
• 6822 / 708  metal silver-plated, unruffled surface
• 6822 / 712  plastic red                            
• 6822 / 713  plastic blue
• 6822 / 715  plastic black, black cap
• 6822 / 716  plastic black, chrome-plated cap
• 6822 / 717  plastic orange
• 6822 / 718  metal chrome-plated, annulated struktur
• 6822 / 730  plexiglass
• 6822 / 302  metal chrome-plated, unruffled grounded
• 6822 / 303  metall chrome-plated, lengthwise ruffled
• 6822 / 304  metall black, annulated struktur
• 6822 / 305  metall silver-plated, checked pattern

This gas butane lighter was designed for Braun by the famous German designer Dieter Rams born in 1932. Next to this lighter he designed also the ET 55 Calculator (1980), SK 4/10 Radio-Phonograph (1956), H 3 Heater-Ventilator (1962) and the Loudspeaker Model No. LE 1 (1960). The Braun Cylindric is part of the permanent collection  of Architecture and Design at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York.

As a smoker, Rams loved to design lighters as “small sculptural objects” which should be “a pleasure to look at and to use.” According to an article in the Design Museum  website "his chief challenge with the T2 was identifying the precise place on the side of the cylinder at which the thumb could apply the greatest pressure to the magnetic ignition pad".

If someone is interested in the the inner part of the lighter you may find the article "Cylindric Ultrasonic Bat Detector" very useful.

Marked on the bottom of the base (black plastic):

BRAUN
Made in Ireland

or

BRAUN
Made in West Germany 
 (serial number)

Type: gas (butane) lighter

Scarcity: uncommon

Value for very good–mint condition: $70.00–130.00 (approx €55.00–100.00)

Weight: 275 grams (0,60 pounds)

Dimensions:

• height: 8.6 cm (3 3/8")
• diameter: 5.4 cm (2 1/8")

Gebrüder Köllisch, Consul Arlac, 1963

This Consul Arlac table lighter was made in 1963 by Gebrüder Köllisch A.G. The company was situated in Nürnberg, West Germany. The first Consul table lighter was introduced in 1952 and the company prospered well till 1971/1972 when it was acquired by the giant Braun.  

The Arlac model is a butane gas and flint lighter. It has its flame control switch on the top. The cover is made of black plastic and the rest is made of brass with gold plating. A nice decorative table lighter. Please notice that in the picture above the lighter lies on its beg. 

Marked on the face: Arlac Consul.


What is interesting almost the same design was applied for a Brown and Bigelow Lighter which was marked Remembrance. The size was exactly the same as in Consul Arlac.

Scarcity: uncommon-rare

Value for very good–mint condition: $55.00–70.00 (approx €35.00–45.00)

Weight: 235 grams (0,52 pounds)

Dimensions:

• length: 14.9 cm (5.9") 
• width: 6.6 cm (2.6") 
• height: 3.6 cm (1.4")

M.T.C. Chromium Swan, 1960

This table lighter in a distinguished form of a young swan was manufactured in the beginning of the 1960s by M.T.C. in Japan. M.T.C. was a quite successful Japanese company active in the 50's and 60's. There are a lot of interesting examples of the craftsmanship of M.T.C. Looking around the lighter market M.T.C. produced mainly chrome plate cigarette lighters.

The Swan is made of heavy chrome plate and the lighter insert is not removable.

The letters M.T.C. are inscribed in a bell on the bottom of the lighter base.

Type: petrol (wick) lighter

Scarcity: uncommon

Value for very good–mint condition: $20.00–40.00 (approx €15.00–25.00)

Weight: 205 grams (0,57 pounds)

Dimensions:

• height: 7.5 cm (3")
• width: 3.9 cm (1.5")
• length: 8.5 cm (3.5")