FAQ: Rowenta Snip, Care & Maintenance Manual, 1950s

This instruction leaflet in English and German was added to "Snip" petrol lighters made by Rowenta in the 1950s.

FAQ: Ibelo Monopol, Care & Maintenance Manual, 1950s

This instruction leaflet was added to all "Monopol" pocket lighters made by Ibelo in the 1950s.

FAQ: Favorit How to Fill and Replace Flint, 1940s

This instruction leaflet was added to all "Favorit" pocket lighters made by Adolf Kinzinger and Ferdinand Wagner (Pat. Ang.) in Pforzheim, Germany in the 1940s and 1950s.

The leaflet was available in three languages: French, German and English.

FAQ: Evans How to Fill and Replace Flint, ca 1945

This small instruction leaflet was added to all new Evans lighters in the mid 1940s.

Negbaur 75 Cannon Table Lighter Instruction, 1940

The U.S. 75 mm Cannon Lighter was manufactured by Negbaur between 1940 and 1949 in Allbright, New York in the United States. Below the instruction leaflet for it.

FAQ: Where to sell my lighter?

One of the most frequent subjects that arise in e-mails from my readers concerns selling and purchasing lighters. Let us start with pointing out the best places for lighter sellers. As with everything we want to sell we have to find the appropriate audience and attention. Here is the ranking of the best places you should start with:

1. On-line auction platforms.
1. International: ebay.com, delcampe.net (great for lighter pins and lighter magazine advertisements)
2. Local/regional: ebay.au, ebay.co.uk, ebay.fr, ebay.de, allegro.pl, etc.
2. Shopping websites eligible for private sales, e.g. etsy.com, rubylane.com, priceminister.com, amazon.
3. On-line classified advertisements boards, e.g. gumtree.com, preloved.co.uk, olx.hu
4. Lighter forums and clubs, e.g. forum.table-lighters.com, LCGB, OTLS
5. Antique shops and local auction houses.
6. Blogs and websites on lighters. Mainly rare pieces in very good condition have a chance to be accepted. 

Next month I will give you some detailed hints on how to sell lighters on eBay and similar platforms. To be up to date please subscribe to my my RSS feed!

PS. Listed below are the biggest auction services in the world (as for 2014-06-08).

FAQ: Dunhill Foxhole & Windproof Lighter Instruction, 1942

This instruction comes from a foxhole lighter manufactured by Dunhill in the 1940s in New York, United States. The lighter was available in two versions: sterling silver and silver plated.

FAQ: Make Yourself a Lighter, 1951

Below an interesting article on how to make a trench cigarette lighter (DIY). The original title of the article is "Turn Yourself a Lighter". It was initially issued in the Popular Science Magazine on January 1951.

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.

FAQ: IMCO Foxhole & Blackout Lighter Instruction, 1941

This instruction comes from a foxhole lighter manufactured by IMCO in the 1940s in New York, United States. IMCO was founded in 1907 in Vienna, Austria by Julius Meister. At the beginning the company manufactured buttons for the military but from ca. 1919 it completely switched to the production of cigarette lighters.

FAQ: Ronson Banjo Pocket Lighter Instruction, 1926

The first automatic pocket lighter Ronson Banjo was marketed by Art Metal Works, Inc., Newark, N. J. between 1926 and 1928 in the United States. Here we have the instruction sheet for it.

Glossary of Terms and Abbreviations for lighter collectors [D-G]

• Date letter – is a letter of the alphabet stamped with a punch in conjunction with hallmarks on British silver. Each letter represents a specific year, recording the official date of manufacturing of an item. The date letter system was introduced in London in 1478. The cycles of date letters were usually in strings of 20 and each cycle was differentiated by changing the font style, latter case and shield shape. Date letters are very useful for dating silver lighters made in GB. 
• Doulton Company – an English company producing tableware and collectibles, 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. Production ended at Lambeth in 1956 but continues today at Burlslem under the name Royal Doulton Fine China. It is famous among others for Toby Jugs which were also used as table lighters bases. 
• DBP – abbreviation for Deutsches Bundespatent (German for "Federal German Patent). It has been used since 1949 for lighters manufactured in Germany.
• DPMA – Deutsches Patent- und Markenamt German Patent and Trade Mark Office (GPTO) is the German national patent office, with headquarters in Munich, and offices in Berlin and Jena The first unified Patentgesetz (German Patent Act) was adopted on 25 May 1877, which mandated the establishment of an authority tasked with reviewing and awarding patents. On this basis, on 1 July 1877, the Kaiserliche Patentamt (Imperial Patent Office) was founded in Berlin. Am 2. Juli 1877 wurde das erste deutsche Patent für ein „Verfahren zur Herstellung einer rothen Ultramarinfarbe“ des Erfinders Johannes Zeltner erteilt. Die erste Marke wurde am 16. Oktober 1894 für einen Berliner Lampenproduzenten eingetragen.
• DBGM – abbreviation for Deutsches Bundesgebrauchsmuster (Gebrauchsmuster / Gebrauchsmusterschutz) which is an intellectual property right to protect inventions within Germany granted since October 1952.
• DRGM – abbreviation for Deutsches Reichs Gebrauchs Muster (German Reich Utility Model) which was an intellectual property right to protect inventions within Germany granted between 1891 and 1949. The property right was only valid for three years.
• DRP – abbreviation for Deutsches Reichspatent (German for "German Reich Patent). It was granted for lighters manufactured in Germany between 1918 and 1945.
• DRWZ – the acronym D.R.W.Z. with or without punctuation stands for Deutsches Reichswarenzeichen, meaning that an item marked as such was officially registered under trademark laws inside all of the Germany states and not only locally registered as it was the case before the introduction of centralized registration. Note that many people quote this acronym as standing for 'Deutsches Reich Warenzeichen', which is grammatically wrong and also omits the letter 's' after Reich. This results in shifting the weight of pronunciation on 'Deutsches Reich' alone, but this acronym has nothing to do with the Third Reich as many sellers want to imply so to catch the attention of certain 'collectors'. D.R.W.Z. registrations were introduced 1891 and if you are dating items you should hold in mind that even during Allied occupation up until 1949, registration procedures remained untouched and still used the D.R.W.Z. registration documents, which of course explains why such marks can be found on products actually manufactured up until 1952 as the registration itself was valid for three years. As from the end of October 1952, all registrations were definately marked as 'Deutsches Bundeswarenzeichen' (D.B.W.Z.) or simply 'Eingetragenes Warenzeichen'.
• Delft ware – denotes blue and white pottery made in and around Delft in the Netherlands and the tin-glazed pottery made in the Netherlands from the 16th century. Delftware in the latter sense is a type of pottery in which a white glaze is applied, usually decorated with metal oxides. Delftware includes pottery objects of all descriptions such as plates, ornaments and also lighter bases.
• De oro – in Spanish de oro means gold. 
• Denatured alcohol – ethyl alcohol which is used as fuel in certain lighters, for maintenance of wicks in kerosene heaters and lamps to remove water contaminants and restore the capillary action of the wick, as a wick cleaner and a kerosene additive, by adding approx. 1 teaspoon denatured alcohol per gallon of kerosene. As a fuel for older toy steam engines which used a wick-type or vaporizing burner.
• Déposé – French abbreviation for patent pending, see brevet depose.
• Depression glass – is clear or colored translucent glassware that was mass produced at low cost, in the United States and Canada around the time of the Great Depression. Common colors are clear (crystal), pink, pale blue, green, and amber. Less common colors include yellow (canary), ultra marine, jadeite (opaque pale green), delphite (opaque pale blue), cobalt blue, red (ruby & royal ruby), black, amethyst, monax, and white (milk glass). Although of marginal quality, Depression glass has been highly collectible since the 1960s. Depression glass was used among others for manufacturing plates, glasses, lighter bases and ashtrays.
• Die casting is a metal casting process that is characterized by forcing molten metal under high pressure into a closed metal or mould. The casting is removed from the die after a short cooling period. Most die castings are made from non-ferrous metals, specifically zinc, copper, aluminium, magnesium, lead, pewter and tin based alloys. Die casting was very popular among table lighter producers like Ronson.
• Disposable lighter – inexpensive mass produced pocket lighters meant to be disposed when the tank got empty.
• Döbereiner's lamp – a lighter invented in 1823 by the German chemist Johann Wolfgang Döbereiner (1780–1849), the lighter is based on the Fürstenberger lighter and was in production until ca. 1880. In the jar, zinc metal reacts with sulfuric acid to produce hydrogen gas. When a valve is opened, a jet of hydrogen is released and bursts into flame. The ignition is catalyzed by platinum metal.
• Double-tank lighter – type of a lighter in that two separate compartments or chambers are built in in order to ensure safety reserve of fuel. The first double-tank lighter was patented in 1932; US patent no. 1,884,481.
• Double wheel lighter – is a lighter that uses a double wheel mechanism. Usually the wheel on the side of a lighter turns another that strikes the flint. The spark generated by striking the flint ignites the gas or lighter fluid creating a flame. Double wheel lighters were made among others by Dunhill, Park Sherman, Parker.
• Dureum – antique gold finish invented and used by Ronson between the 1920s and 1940s. 
• Duty mark – stamped with a punch in conjunction with hallmarks on British silver. The duty mark system was introduced in 1784 and lasted till 1890. It indicated if the tax on the item was paid to the crown. The mark presented a profile portrait of the reigning monarch's head. 
• Eslabon – lighter in Spanish.
• EPNS – abbreviation for Electro Plated Nickel Silver. Nickel silver, also known as German silver, Argentan, new silver, nickel brass, albata, alpacca or electrum is a copper alloy with nickel and often zinc. The usual formulation is 60% copper, 20% nickel and 20% zinc. Nickel silver is named for its silvery appearance, but it contains no elemental silver unless plated.
• Electric lighter – type of a lighter powered either by batteries or electric power usually used as a table lighter. Examples of electric lighters: Dunhill silent flame, Tassel-Liter and Fumalux).
• Enamel – is a material made by fusing powdered glass to a substrate by firing. The powder melts, flows and then hardens to a smooth, durable vitreous coating on metal, or on glass or ceramics. The term "enamel" is most often restricted to work on metal, which is the subject of this article. Enameled glass is also called "painted". Fired enamelware is an integrated layered composite of glass and metal. Used as a noun, "an enamel" is a usually small decorative object, coated with enamel coating. Enameling is an old and widely adopted technology, for most of its history mainly used in jewelry and decorative art.
• Engine turning – fine geometric pattern that can be inscribed onto metal as a finish. Aluminium is often the metal chosen but any metal can be finely machined to produce intricate repetitive patterns that offer reflective interest and fine detail.
• Ferrocerium – see: flint.
• Feuerzeug – lighter in German.
• Figural lighter – type of cigarette lighters manufactured in shapes of objects (photo camera, lamp, car), animals (elephant, dog, cat), people (bartender, nude lady, soldier) etc. 
• Filler cap
• Filler screw – is a screw of the fluid tank lighter.
• Flat advertiser – type of a pocket lighter used for marketing purposes with a relatively big advertising imprint area. The vast majority of flat advertisers were manufactured in Japan from the late 1940s to early 1960s. The common company names of these lighters include: Rolex, Rosen-Nesor, Crown, Balboa, Penguin and Vulcan and Rolex.
• Flint – also called ferro rod or ferrocerium is a man-made metallic material first made in 1903 that gives off a large number of hot sparks at temperatures of 1650°C when scraped against a rough surface (pyrophoricity), such as ridged steel. Because of this property it is used in many applications, such as clockwork toys, strikers for gas welding and cutting torches, so-called "flint-and-steel" or "flint spark lighter" fire-starters in emergency survival kits and of course cigarette lighters, as the initial ignition source for the primary fuel. It is also known in Europe as Auermetall after its inventor Baron Carl Auer von Welsbach. 
• Flint screw – also called pressure screw, holds the flint in its upper part of the flint tube.
• Flint spring – is a spring that exerts pressure on the flint to keep it in contact with the spark wheel of the lighter. The flint spring is ended on one side with a flint screw.
• Flint spark lighter – sometimes just called a spark lighter, striker, or flint lighter is a type of lighter used in many applications to safely light a gaseous fuel to start a flame. It is most commonly used for bunsen burners and oxyacetylene welding torches. A flint spark lighter works by rapidly rubbing a small piece of ferrocerium against a rough steel surface (also called the rasp), in much the same way flint and steel are used. This manual rubbing action, done by squeezing the handle, creates a spark which then lights the gaseous fuel.
• Flint tube – is a tube were the flint spring and the flint itself is mounted in the cigarette lighter.
• Flint wheel – also called spark wheel is a small wheel made of hard steel. Due to the rough surface of the spark wheel and the contact with the flint it allows to produce a shower of sparks in a lighter. 
• Fluid (lighter) – a common name for butane gas, naphtha and special petroleum solvent used in different types of cigarette and cigar lighters.
• For. patent – abbreviation for "Foreign patent".
• Foxhole lighter – type of a lighter that used tinder cord impregnated with flammable chemicals that allow the cord to glow and burn slowly. In order to lit the cord one had to pull out the cord from the casing and turn the spark wheel. The cord slowly burns but does not produce a flame. The gleaming was hardly visible even in the dark which was crucial especially during wars hence the name of the lighter.
• Frozen flint – refers to an old decomposed flint (ferrocerium) that got stuck in the flint tube of a cigarette lighter.
• Fuel – type of a lighter fluid used in wick lighters.
• Fulcrum screw  – a screw in the lighter that holds the spark wheel, snuffer cap and the clutch spring assembly. The fuel screw is supported by so called ears.
• Fused flint – see: frozen flint. 
• Fusee – (also know as 'tinder cord') special cord impregnated with flammable chemicals that allow the cord to glow and burn slowly. The fusee was used among others in foxhole lighters in the I WW.
• Gas – type of a lighter fluid (usually butane gas) used in butane cigarette lighters.
• German silver – also called nickel silver or alpacca is a copper alloy with nickel and often zinc. Nickel silver is named for its silvery appearance but it contains no elemental silver unless plated. The name "German silver" refers to its development by 19th-century German metalworkers in imitation of the Chinese alloy known as paktong.
  
• Ges. gesch. – (gesetzlich geschützt) registered/protected by law, marking used on German lighters.
• GF – abbreviation for gold filled.
• Gold – precious metal used for coinage, jewelry, and other arts. Lighters made of gold (usually 9ct or 14ct gold) are very rare and their value is usually very high easily excessing 3 243 zł.
• Gold filled – (GF or RGP) also known as "rolled gold" or "rolled gold plate" is composed of a solid layer of gold bonded with heat and pressure to a base metal such as brass. The most common stamps found on gold-filled lighters are 1/20 12K GF and 1/20 14K GF. Also common is 1/10 10K."1/20 14K means 14K gold is 1/20 the total weight which is an equivalent of 0.7K or 0.9 gram of pure gold per oz. For comparison GF items are 50 to 100,000 times thicker than regular gold plating, and 17 to 25,000 times thicker than heavy gold electroplate (sometimes stamped HGE or HGP).
• Guilloche – (or guilloché) is a decorative engraving technique in which a very precise intricate repetitive pattern or design is mechanically engraved into an underlying material with fine detail. Specifically, it involves a technique of engine turning, called guilloché in French after the French engineer “Guillot”, who invented a machine “that could scratch fine patterns and designs on metallic surfaces”.

Go to: Glossary of Terms and Abbreviations for lighter collectors [A-C] 

Lighter Repair Manual. For All Cigarette Lighters, 1954

I have decided to share some extra content with everybody who wants and is willing to donate couple of dollars for the development of this blog. 

Please donate $5 to this blog and you will receive the "Lighter Repair Manual. For All Cigarette Lighters" which was first published in 1953/1954. This publication is available in PDF and only for private use. 150 pages of superb content, see some example pages below.

The list of Cigarette Lighters that are included in this manual is very impressive:

•     ASR
•     Avedon
•     Beattie Jet
•     Berkeley Director
•     Berkeley Windproof
•     Bowers
•     Bowers
•     Clark
•     Corona Atom
•     Dome
•     Dunhill
•     Dunhill Windproof
•     Dunhill Dueling Pistol
•     Elgin American Case
•     Elgin American Pocket
•     Evans
•     Firefly
•     Giant
•     Karat
•     Kimberly
•     Lektrolite
•     Liberty
•     Lord Oxford
•     Maraking
•     Marathon
•     Mars Triggerlite
•     Metalfield (Aladdin)
•     Mylflam
•     Negbaur
•     Parker Flaminaire
•     Parker Silent Flame
•     Parker Table
•     Pistoliter
•     RamaSpin
•     Regeliter
•     Regens
•     Ritepoint
•     Ronson
•     Ronson Maximus
•     Ronson Octette
•     Ronson Touch-Tip
•     Ronson Vanguard
•     Ronson Viking
•     Royal Case Lite
•     Royaliter
•     Solo
•     Speed
•     Stratoflame
•     Strikeliter
•     Swiza
•     Team
•     Thorens
•     Thorens Jubile
•     Thorens Ladies
•     Thorens Lucky
•     Thorens Oriflam
•     Thorens Standard
•     Thorens Vedette
•     Top Hat
•     Urislite
•     Wademeyer
•     Windy
•     Zippo

FAQ: Instruction for the ANGLIA Table Lighter, 1947

To remove Mechanical Unit, hold body in right hand and Mechanical Unit in left and unsrew.

To recharge with flint, unscrew Knurled Cap, insert flint and spring and replace.

To refuel, hold body in left hand and basein right hand, unscrew, pour fuel in aperature and replace. Use good quality Lighter Fuel only.

Notes

The Anglia Lighter is fitted with special glass wick which cannot burn.

When replacing flint, use good quality only. The size fitted should be standard 2.8 mm diameter.

A PRODUCT OF
STEWART ENGINEERING CO LTD
ANGLIA WORKS, STAINES RD. SUNBURY-ON-THAMES

More about the Anglia Table Lighter can be found here.

"Silent Flame" Table Lighter Operating Instruction

The improved "Silent Flame" lighter mechanism was invented and patented by Irving Florman in 1935 in the United States of America (U.S. Pat. 2,020,142). The invention was known as the electric cigar lighter "of the type wherein a wick is ignited through the heat of an electrical resistance element". Below an instruction on how to care and use such lighter. It applies to all Silent Flame Lighters made by PARKER and Dunhill.

To Fill Lighter: Turn knob at top of lighting stick to left to remove. Fill stick to top with any good lighter fluid. Do not use gasoline or kerosene. Replace knob at top of stick.

To Light: Rest the lightning stick upon the metal railing around the top of the lighter, at the same time touch the protruding point of the lightning stick against the metal figure in the center of the lighter so as to make a contact. Do not scratch any part of the lightning stick against any other part of the lighter.

To Exchange Batteries: The lighter operates on two batteries. Any standard dry cell of the correct size will do. At the bottom of lighter is a screw. Turn this screw to remove the base. This exposes two cells, one is in an up and one is a down position, according to markings. Replace with two fresh batteries and be sure that they are put in the same up and down position at last ones and that they are firmly held in the metal clips.

Lighters Collectors' Forum now reopened!

Not too long ago in 2010 I have created the Cigarette Lighters Collectors' Forum. Unfortunately after 8 months I gave up - my experience on running a forum was insufficient and I lost the battle with spam bots that flooded the forum with useless advertising posts.

Today I would like to announce the reopening of the forum in a new domain: forum.table-lighters.com.

The forum runs on the newest and probably the best forum software available in the web. Please note that the account activation is done manually by the administrator which means you will have to wait some time for the activation email to begin with posting.

I hope that this time we will menage to create a fantastic and supportive community. Feel free to post your thoughts and questions.

The style of the forum is greenish and green means hope...

FAQ: How to Make Light of Lighter Repair, 1957

Below an interesting article on wick lighter repair from October 1957. It was initially issued in the Science and Mechanics Magazine.

FAQ: Wick Lighter Care, Troubleshooting Guide & Hints

Following, are listed some of the common problems that you may encounter with your cigarette wick lighter. This guide includes also measures which will help to solve them.

1. Lighter won't hold fluid for a reasonable period of time. This is caused by defective washer on the fuel screw or by a short wick or loose packing. In the case of a short wick, regardless of how much fluid is in the lighter tank, it cannot be delivered to the chimney unless the wick reaches those parts of the packing containing the fluid. What you have to do is re-wick, repack and check washer, replacing if necessary.


2. Lighter when lit burns temporarily with excessive smoking. This is caused when the lighter is filled with inappropriate petrol or oil instead of proper grade of lighter fluid. Oil may also prevent sparking action as it spreads over the working parts of the wick lighter. Disassemble every part of lighter, throw away the old packing, and soak the lighter tank and parts in good lighter fluid bath. Wipe dry, making sure that all traces of oil are removed. 


3. The lighter won't spark even though new piece of flint is installed. If lack of flint is not the trouble here the problem might lye in:
• defective wheel which might worn excessively smooth,
• lack of proper tension or strength in the flint spring,
• defective clutch spring as it sometimes felt apart,
• fused old flint which often is the case when the lighter was not used a longer period.
To get the lighter to work you will have to find spare parts in case the first two problems appeared. When an old flint is stuck in the flint tube you might want to use a tool (a screwdriver or a very fine-gauge drill bit). Remove the flint screw and spring and break up the old flint in the spring tube. Be careful to not damage the flint wheel, but also be thorough about getting all the old flint out. In some of the cases the lighter has to be dissembled to get the job done.

Hint 1: Keep clean the wheel. Do not allow it to clog up with dirt, lint, tobacco or powder dust, powdered flint, etc. The remedy for this is an occasional brushing with a stiff brush, or light wire wheel if powder tools are available. A good idea is also to blow a burst of air into the lighter mechanism.
Hint 2: If you do not intend to use the lighter for a longer period remove the flint otherwise it might get stuck like cement in the flint tube. This is because of moisture, spring pressure, time and ferrocerium - the material which the flint is made of.
Hint 3: Never use the lighter until fluid and flint are completely exhausted. This results in charred wick, and necessitates re-wicking and repacking. When flint is gone, the wheel continues to turn against the flint spring tip which, being often brass, will damage or destroy the cutting surfaces of the wheel, and make replacement necessary.
Hint 4: To disassemble a lighter with a standard movement, a few tools are necessary like small screwdrivers, tweeters and alignment tools.

In addition to what was written above an interesting article published in Popular Mechanics on February 1947 on "Getting the Most of Your Cigarette Lighter".

 

FAQ: The New Barcroft Instruction Leaflet, 1950s

Below an instruction leaflet for the Barcroft Desk / Table Lighter (4^th version) added to the lighter in the 1950s. It contains:

• construction details of the Barcroft Zippo lighter,
• how to re-fuel and re-flint the lighter.

 

FAQ: Directions for use of Ronson De-Light, 1929

The instruction below was added in 1929-1931 to some of the De-Light pocket lighters, including:

• Ronson De-Light Junior,
• Ronson Standard Sport (with the early De-Light fitment),
• Ronson Junior Sport,
• Ronson Princess,

as well to both Ronson De-Light table lighters:

• Ronson Tabourette,
• Ronson Tablelighter.

You will learn how to:

• fill
• renew spark metal (flint)
• operate

and directions for care of wick and some important notice.