Any Vintage Lighter Collectors Out There?

[Levallois]

I obtained a flip-arm lighter that has MEB in a triangle, US patent 1022140, Ambassador and Chromium Plate on the bottom. No other marks anywhere. The internet info that I can find seems to suggest this is an Austrian lighter from the 1930s but that's all I can find out. It's very art deco looking and matches my cigarette case perfectly but I'd like to know more about it. Thanks!

 

[Mickey D]

Few lighters and lighter/cases

Martini glass shape lighter, AS-Solingen, Germany c. '30s

 

[Levallois]

Mickey D,

Nice collection! Are any of them made by MEB? I'm coming up Bupkis for any more info. on the internet.

John

 

[Mickey D]

Not familiar with MEB. Most in my collection are Ronson or Evans.
I have a good book on lighters you can pick up at Borders, The Big Book of Cigarette Lighters, Identification and Values by James Flanagan.
I'll go through it to see if I can find any info on MEB.

 

[Levallois]

Mickey D,

Any luck with the lighter book? Thanks!

John

 

[Dinerman]

These belong to a friend of mine.

 

[Levallois]

These belong to a friend of mine.

Dinerman,

Those advertisement lighters are nice! What do they date to?

John

 

[Geesie]

What would be a good search term to use for finding lighters like those?

 

[Dinerman]

Dinerman,

Those advertisement lighters are nice! What do they date to?

John

The 2nd one would be '50s, going by the design of the Little Tavern pictured. The Zippo is probably earlier, also going by the design of the building and sign.

 

[MrNewportCustom]

Am I the only one who finds it odd that, as a nonsmoker, I collect lighters?

Here are a few that I recently found in an antique mall in Yucaipa, Ca. I have several others that I'll post later.

An all brass Penquin lighter (made in Japan):

An Evans:

My favorite of the three; an ASR:

An earlier find is this pelican ashtray. The lighter behind it is a Berkeley Director:

Here's a better look at the Berkeley:

Lee

 

[Slim Portly]

My Ronson "Princess" with a previous owner's name engraved, manufactured in Newark, New Jersey. This model was introduced in 1929 and is still in production (I believe). Mine is in amazingly good condition but was non-functional upon receipt. I spent an hour of on-the-job-training taking it apart, diagnosing the problem, fixing it, and reassembling. It now works flawlessly.

 

[Silver Dollar]

I see a lot of really neat lighters, some of which I can remember my dad having. The only collectible lighter I have is a tiny thing with a Varga girl on the side. [huh]

 

[Slim Portly]

Some folks get itchy feet when they sit for too long, but I like my down time just fine, thanks. Besides, I had a very important project underway involving fifty-two of my closest friends and the buff-colored fedora parked upside-down on the chair six feet from my desk. It was the last week of April, and for the next seven months or so I planned on staying indoors during the heat of the day whenever I wasn’t working. And I wasn’t working. The tracks in the carpet from the night shift cleaning service’s Hoover were already twelve hours old and the prints from my camel and brown saddle shoes were the only things disturbing them so far.

In spite of the heat, another slow day meant I’d be venturing out to visit Angel at his usual booth down at the Crystal Palace to see about a short-term loan, followed by a half-dozen other stops around town: one to the landlord to make sure that my key would still fit in the door in five days, a few others to keep certain wheels greased, and finally a quick visit at the tobacco shop.

The wick in my Ronson “Pal” cigarette case had burned to the nub, and I figured I may as well grab a Plastikit accessory box just to be safe. The little Bakelite box was shaped like a pocket lighter, with a picture of an Indian chief on the front, and it slid open to reveal five “redskin” Ronson flints, a spark wheel cleaning brush, a wire inserting tool for the wick, and of course the wick itself.

I had received the brown and tortoise enamel case from a client years ago in partial payment for services rendered, and although I hadn’t bought it from Norm’s shop he was more than happy to keep it in tip-top shape for me. When he was finished doing what he did best, I slipped the lighter along with the little accessory kit into my pocket, minus the wick and one new flint, and drove back to the office.

Ensconced back at my walk-up suite, I closed the shutters to keep out the afternoon sun, and returned to my previous business. The next card off the deck was the king of hearts, the man who had taken the easy way out, and as I sailed him toward his compatriots in the old hat, I wondered if His Highness had known something that I didn’t.

 

[Foofoogal]

Nice. I just picked up one of the Pelican ashtrays. It is smaller than the other one I have like this from my FIL. It has some other bird.

 

[Vintage lover]

My 1937 Dunhill. I received this as a gift.

 

[Levallois]

Wow! Nice Dunhill. My brother in law has one of these from the 1960s that I've always coveted. I didn't realize the design goes back into the 1930s. Thanks for sharing.

John

 

[Blackjack]

A repro ronson that Camel gave away about ten years ago and my dads old war lighter from WWII

 

[HHISIII]

A Dunhill Rollagas that I picked up not long ago. I listed it for sale, but I think I'm gonna keep it instead. A local guy that works on Dunhill's said it's a 70's.
It's amazing that the rollalite/rollagas design has remained essentially unchanged this long.

 

[Vintage lover]

A Dunhill Rollagas that I picked up not long ago. I listed it for sale, but I think I'm gonna keep it instead. A local guy that works on Dunhill's said it's a 70's.
It's amazing that the rollalite/rollagas design has remained essentially unchanged this long.

It makes sense though, why spend a fortune trying to reinvent the wheel?

 

[H.Johnson]

Zippos

Do you have Zippo: an American Legend a Collector's Companion by Avi R. Baer and Alex Neumark? (MJF Books, NYC, 1999).

I have a collection of 1940s match books. Does that count?