Is it Golden Era? Evans 'deco' lighter.

[The Wingnut]

Hey, folks.

Picked up this little gem today for $8. Looks golden era, but it could have been made right on up to the present day, judging from its condition.

Any ideas? I'm guessing 1960s, but I could be wrong. Neat lighter, push down, it opens and lights. Pretty sturdy, seems to be U.S. made, judging from the patent. No brassing, only one blemish on the one side, can be seen in the pic.

Little more unusual than a Zippo, and the fuel probably doesn't evaporate as quickly.

 

[scotrace]

This may prove helpful

Interesting story comes from a few minutes at Google. They made cases in the 20's, Ronson sued for patent infringement. Case went on for years and Evans lost.
Yours looks (to my eye) 30's - 40's.

here's a book about the company and its products:
http://vintagelighters.com/merchant...D&Product_Code=bk0evans_book&Category_Code=B0

I bet Absinthe knows something about this item.

 

[Mycroft]

The engraving is "deco" or deco styled, is it brass?

 

[The Wingnut]

Looks to be gold-plated brass with a protective lacquer.

Judging from the patent, it's a 'reissue' of an older case design (Hence the RE), which would place it after the late '40s, when Ronson finally won their lawsuit against Evans....I still haven't been able to dig up more than the fact that Evans was sued and it went through in the late '40s, or that the 'RE' patent numbers are from after the suit.

So, it's likely a '30s or early '40s design, made after the war. Good enough for me!