Lighters to collect that were used in movies
- Thread starter VonMagnum
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VonMagnum
Sr Member
Ronson Wedgwood Table Lighter (1954) Ulysses Theme. Wedgewood made several of these style lighters with different 'scenes' on them. The previously shown Queen Elizabeth Coronation Lighter is another example. This one features Ulysses from Greek Mythology. It's never used so I'm not sure I want to light it. Edit: Oh what the heck....
Lit baby lit!
Lit baby lit!
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VonMagnum
Sr Member
Ronson De-Light Windbreak Lighter (1929) in Red (dyed) Alligator Leather. These are fairly rare to locate (half surprised I actually won the auction) and aren't terribly interesting in plain chrome except for the sorta cool looking mechanism to block the wind (The Ronson Whirlwind lighter later sold in mass quantities with a pull up windshield that was more or less hidden from view). I think the alligator leather dyed red makes this one exceptionally cool for this lighter type. It appears to have not been used with the wick still unlit (so again I'm torn on lighting it). It may, however simply be a new wick installed to better sell the lighter (there is some indication of tobacco colored debris on top of the lighter, making me think this may actually be the case). The flash photo shows the leather in much better detail than the dim overhead lighting so I included both no flash and flash photos. Edit: I gotta have lit photos....
Front No Flash
Front No Flash Windscreen Up
Back of the lighter No Flash
Front With Flash
Front With Flash Windscreen Up
Lit Windscreen Down
Lit Windscreen Up
Front No Flash
Front No Flash Windscreen Up
Back of the lighter No Flash
Front With Flash
Front With Flash Windscreen Up
Lit Windscreen Down
Lit Windscreen Up
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VonMagnum
Sr Member
The Ronson Whirlwind has a hidden windscreen that moves up/down.First time I see a lighter with a windscreen
Others like the Dunhill Unique "Sports" version have built-in windshields that aren't meant to be removed
VonMagnum
Sr Member
This is the lighter I ordered to use the top lighter and insert to make a Hellraiser Lament Box Lighter. I'm not sure the brass lighter is close enough to the gold tone on the Hellraiser box, however. I'd need to find a circular cutting blade to do it, anyway. But even as it it came, it looks pretty nice (coat of Flitz applied to lighter).
VonMagnum
Sr Member
Ronson WWI Tank Striker Lighter (1920)
Cool WWI model tank with Striker lighter from 1920 (103 years old!). Sadly, one turret is broken. The lighter was advertised as "working" and it seems there is a flint bar in it, but I had to scrape it to get some sparks. It has trays for two flint bars.
I should be able to add a 2nd flint the same way I did with the laughing/screaming monkey lighter. At least the wand looks good on this one. I polished it with FLITZ, but it didn't make a huge difference, maybe a bit shinier and cleaner (clearly some dark stuff came off wiping it).
Cool WWI model tank with Striker lighter from 1920 (103 years old!). Sadly, one turret is broken. The lighter was advertised as "working" and it seems there is a flint bar in it, but I had to scrape it to get some sparks. It has trays for two flint bars.
I should be able to add a 2nd flint the same way I did with the laughing/screaming monkey lighter. At least the wand looks good on this one. I polished it with FLITZ, but it didn't make a huge difference, maybe a bit shinier and cleaner (clearly some dark stuff came off wiping it).
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VonMagnum
Sr Member
What disturbs me today in the auctions is that the same Ronson WWI tank above with 4 broken turrets (all on the sides) plus a missing wand still only sold for $52. I didn't even watch the auction because I figured it would still sell for $150-250 (you can buy a replacement wand that looks identical for $39 on eBay; it's not vintage, but it solves the missing wand issue and my method of robbing a flint bar from an $8 Forever Match lighter works fine) and so what it comes down to are 3 turrets and a flint bar worth $400 more??? I don't think so.
Perhaps it's more like that tank sold way too low (other auctions were $250-650 with the $250 ones missing turrets), but where did all the (32+) bidders from the other auction I won go to? Here for $52 + a $39 replacement wand + $8 flint bar would get you the same lighter minus 3 turrets. So that begs the question of whether I got auction fever and paid way too much (possibly due to a shill bidder raising the price artificially). It's just hard to believe all those 32 bidders watching the other auction I won said HELL NO to bidding on that tank just because it was missing 3 more turrets and a wand that sells separately on eBay.... Very disturbing to me.
Perhaps it's more like that tank sold way too low (other auctions were $250-650 with the $250 ones missing turrets), but where did all the (32+) bidders from the other auction I won go to? Here for $52 + a $39 replacement wand + $8 flint bar would get you the same lighter minus 3 turrets. So that begs the question of whether I got auction fever and paid way too much (possibly due to a shill bidder raising the price artificially). It's just hard to believe all those 32 bidders watching the other auction I won said HELL NO to bidding on that tank just because it was missing 3 more turrets and a wand that sells separately on eBay.... Very disturbing to me.
VonMagnum
Sr Member
Ronson Wedgewood Cherub Lighter (1955 England). Wedgewood made several art bodies with blue or green backgrounds for Ronson inserts including gas models later on. This one has cherubs on it. It was already in like new condition, probably never used and only cost me $10.45 + shipping and tax. I'm not sure why they sell so cheap as they're using the famed Adonis mechanism. Maybe it's the sky blue and white colors aren't in style these days? I dunno, but it's a great lighter. I just added some lighter fluid.
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VonMagnum
Sr Member
1928 Ronson De-Light Pocket Lighter in Chromium (Princess Size??? It looks smaller than the standard leather one I have and more like the princess one). This one has its little leather button cover intact! (rare; most have long since come off) It needed a flint cleared and a new wick (and thus packing while I was at it) installed. I had a heck of a time getting a new wick into this lighter. It just kept getting stuck at the flint tube. Some 2+ hours later and a bunch of packing of cotton only to discover it needed a LOT of space to fit the lid with the extra flint cover insert on it installed. I finally got it all done....
I tried and tried and tried to find out the meaning/origin of the symbol on the monogram. It appears to say either 1925, 1926 or 1928 (hard to tell looking close-up straight at it. The lighter itself is most likely 1928 so that'd be my guess for that reason. They did make De-Light lighters in 1926, but they had no "coin" slots on the fuel and flint caps and this one does have them. The seller said the guy in the symbol was a Native American and that's as good a guess as any. I thought perhaps it was a symbol adopted for modern times for a specific tribe (Mohicans, Mohawks, Mingo, etc.), but I couldn't find any evidence of that online. There was a Camp Mitigwa that has a "M" that wasn't totally dissimilar (related to Arrow of Light Boy Scouts I think), but not really the same and the year seems wrong (there's a 75th Anniversary patch for 1998, but that would place it at 1923....). If anyone knows, don't be shy.
Anyway, there's something cool looking about the early De-Light mechanisms, IMO. They look slightly what today we'd call "Steam Punk" in design with the little gear fitments sticking out. Maybe it's just me....
The finish is not off under the button; I just needed to clean some dirt/residue on it off (not as easy to see with the naked eye as the camera picks up)
Back Side
The new wick is all lit up and ready to light some cancer sticks! Yeah baby!
De-Light Standard & Princess versions in Leather (from previous page)
I tried and tried and tried to find out the meaning/origin of the symbol on the monogram. It appears to say either 1925, 1926 or 1928 (hard to tell looking close-up straight at it. The lighter itself is most likely 1928 so that'd be my guess for that reason. They did make De-Light lighters in 1926, but they had no "coin" slots on the fuel and flint caps and this one does have them. The seller said the guy in the symbol was a Native American and that's as good a guess as any. I thought perhaps it was a symbol adopted for modern times for a specific tribe (Mohicans, Mohawks, Mingo, etc.), but I couldn't find any evidence of that online. There was a Camp Mitigwa that has a "M" that wasn't totally dissimilar (related to Arrow of Light Boy Scouts I think), but not really the same and the year seems wrong (there's a 75th Anniversary patch for 1998, but that would place it at 1923....). If anyone knows, don't be shy.
Anyway, there's something cool looking about the early De-Light mechanisms, IMO. They look slightly what today we'd call "Steam Punk" in design with the little gear fitments sticking out. Maybe it's just me....
The finish is not off under the button; I just needed to clean some dirt/residue on it off (not as easy to see with the naked eye as the camera picks up)
Back Side
The new wick is all lit up and ready to light some cancer sticks! Yeah baby!
De-Light Standard & Princess versions in Leather (from previous page)
VonMagnum
Sr Member
The more I stare at the symbol, the more it looks more like a Grey Alien holding a scepter with a skull on the end (or wearing a straight jacket). No one I showed it to at work thinks it looks human. One said the head looked like Yoda. Maybe the "M" is for Mayan and it's a depiction of their sky god (maybe I watch too much Ancient Aliens...).
VonMagnum
Sr Member
Ronson Royal Crown Derby Imari Lighter (1954)
Royal Crown Derby pattern of China with a Ronson "Essex" lighter insert. I've seen a few variations in the lighter mechanism as well (e.g. Nordic style long handle and a few different pattern variations). I'm not an expert on Imari China patterns, but I guess they're considered valuable. There's a matching tea set to this particular pattern out there that one could add to a nice guest silver tray set for guests or living room style for afternoon tea. I've seen this lighter offered for a range of prices and I finally found one with no damage and a reasonable price so cross one more Ronson Table Lighter off the list....
Remarkably, this lighter only needed a flint and fluid to get it working. How rare....
Royal Crown Derby pattern of China with a Ronson "Essex" lighter insert. I've seen a few variations in the lighter mechanism as well (e.g. Nordic style long handle and a few different pattern variations). I'm not an expert on Imari China patterns, but I guess they're considered valuable. There's a matching tea set to this particular pattern out there that one could add to a nice guest silver tray set for guests or living room style for afternoon tea. I've seen this lighter offered for a range of prices and I finally found one with no damage and a reasonable price so cross one more Ronson Table Lighter off the list....
Remarkably, this lighter only needed a flint and fluid to get it working. How rare....
VonMagnum
Sr Member
STRANGE DAZE
One thing not obvious in the photo of the Ronson De-Light "'25" lighter above with the Indian/Alien is that the entire "M" and the "chips" below the "M" on it are actually RED and shiny like little ruby chips (the one above the M is black or missing). It doesn't come across so well in the photo, but holding it under the light it's blatant. Someone went to a lot of trouble to make that little symbol, IMO. I wondered why it appeared so much darker in the photo and "gem" inlay would explain it, but how to make an inlay shaped exactly like an "M" is also difficult to imagine.
Some of the details are just shadow/wear (like the "skull" at the end of the scepter. In reality, it looks like the brass or whatever metal is slightly worn right there and the bit above the "hair" that looks like a little flag towards the edge might just be slight damage to the triangle (looks pressed down a bit right there to my eyes at an angle). The "scepter" (line diagonal across chest) is not a scepter. I thought it was their right arm over their heart or holding an ear of corn even at one point (mind playing tricks on me). And in the photo, it looked like their right leg was bent back at the foot (knee appeared to be higher, but in reality I think that is there knee so they'd have to be standing on one foot with their right foot pointing behind them). Stranger and stranger when you consider the little details, which I'm sure are purposeful, but to what meaning, I don't know.
I just took another photo using the flash and enhanced the saturation a bit so you can see what I mean about the RED "M". I have to say it looks different still in the flash lit photo, almost like it's wearing a hat and cloak (very elf/wizard-like looking to me that way. Maybe the "M" is for MAGIC.
)It's a RED "M" kind of world. Harry Potter would be thrilled. It looks like his right leg is sitting on his left knee standing on one foot and that sure looks like a wizard hat in that lighting and cloak with both arms holding the "M" shield. Hmmm, "M" (Magic) upside down is a "W" (Wizard!) and the chips indicate it should be rotated for the 2nd and/or 3rd meaning....
(WARIO!)What a mysterious little monogram for a lighter. I've looked at a LOT of lighters and that's gotta be right up there for something unusual.
However, there was a Dunhill Rollagas lighter I bought (but they never sent it and ended up having to get eBay to refund me as they never replied or sent it) and it was unusual in that it had what appeared to be coordinates engraved into it like it was a treasure map or something. I saved a photo of it when I realized I wasn't going to get it. Maybe it's the map coordinates to the treasure of Oak Island....
46.6.22 (What kind of number/date is that? 46? The lighter is from the 1950s so even if it was year/month/day, it doesn't make much sense particularly with the "N to N" bit below it. N to N? (North to North?). It was so bewildering, I felt the need to buy it, but then like I said, it never got sent so the photo is all I have. Maybe it was an anniversary gift? Celebrating June 26th, 1946 - Norm to Nina (???)
VonMagnum
Sr Member
Ronson Colonial Lighter (1936)
I've been trying to find a decent quality one of these for awhile as they're somewhat rare compared to many other common Ronson models, probably because they were only briefly made in the 1930s instead of updated versions in the 1940s like many others. Another one I'm looking for called the "Regal" has two other versions named that, but one is a pocket lighter and the other looks NOTHING like the 1936 version so it's also rare for the same basic reason.
There's been one on eBay for months now that looks like it's in good shape (the top part looks a bit iffy as it's kind of not shiny at all like there's soap on it or something hiding something), but the guy wants $159 (later $149) opening bid and after 4+ months, he's had zero bids. He added "Or Best Offer" but the book price is $60-80 in EXCELLENT condition, not $149 and despite offering $20 more than that ($100), it AUTO-REJECTED the offer. He can keep it until the end of time for all I care. I'm not paying twice the value just because he wants it. I want to win the lottery too, but tough....
I've passed on two other lighters I'm looking for (Superba, which disappeared and may or may not have sold and a Duchess, which is less rare and in sterling silver, but uglier than the brass version and has someone's flipping initials on it, which being in sterling, should be removable, but it's on a cylinder surface, so it's a much harder PITA to remove evenly than a flat pocket lighter monogram which you can just scrape off with a carbon steel file and then sand/polish like I did with the Bogart "Dark Passage" Adonis lighter in Sterling Silver.) Maybe the Duchess is worth that price being in Sterling (book price is based on 'ordinary' finishes), but the initials rub me the wrong way and the brass one in the book is so much cooler looking. The silver version just looks like a mirror cylinder. The Superba was massively overpriced at over double and that's with the chrome off the top flat part of the lighter as well (wouldn't call that "excellent" condition anymore so even worse asking MINT prices for below excellent).
Anyway, this one came up for auction and I ended up getting it for $60 ($70 with shipping and tax), well within its price range, if not higher since it's not exactly perfect looking. I tried to clean it up more, but based on the top part where some coating on the lighter started coming off the button and then looks shiny/perfect underneath and that Flitz did almost nothing for the rest of the body, I came to the conclusion all the "marks" on it are actually on a "clear coat" Ronson used on many lighters to protect the finish from tarnish. You can either put up with the inevitable imperfections that get on it like these marks (which look far worse in the photo than real life) or you can clean it off with an abrasive like paint remover and leave the silver plating exposed (which can then in turn tarnish and the plating can come off easier). Now I'm starting to wonder about some of the other examples I saw that looked like the plating was off, when in fact, the slight "rose colored" look it has from certain angles IS the clear coat here, not the "white metal" underneath that I thought it was. So who knows....
In any case, the lighter already sparked great. It just needed some fuel.....
I've been trying to find a decent quality one of these for awhile as they're somewhat rare compared to many other common Ronson models, probably because they were only briefly made in the 1930s instead of updated versions in the 1940s like many others. Another one I'm looking for called the "Regal" has two other versions named that, but one is a pocket lighter and the other looks NOTHING like the 1936 version so it's also rare for the same basic reason.
There's been one on eBay for months now that looks like it's in good shape (the top part looks a bit iffy as it's kind of not shiny at all like there's soap on it or something hiding something), but the guy wants $159 (later $149) opening bid and after 4+ months, he's had zero bids. He added "Or Best Offer" but the book price is $60-80 in EXCELLENT condition, not $149 and despite offering $20 more than that ($100), it AUTO-REJECTED the offer. He can keep it until the end of time for all I care. I'm not paying twice the value just because he wants it. I want to win the lottery too, but tough....
I've passed on two other lighters I'm looking for (Superba, which disappeared and may or may not have sold and a Duchess, which is less rare and in sterling silver, but uglier than the brass version and has someone's flipping initials on it, which being in sterling, should be removable, but it's on a cylinder surface, so it's a much harder PITA to remove evenly than a flat pocket lighter monogram which you can just scrape off with a carbon steel file and then sand/polish like I did with the Bogart "Dark Passage" Adonis lighter in Sterling Silver.) Maybe the Duchess is worth that price being in Sterling (book price is based on 'ordinary' finishes), but the initials rub me the wrong way and the brass one in the book is so much cooler looking. The silver version just looks like a mirror cylinder. The Superba was massively overpriced at over double and that's with the chrome off the top flat part of the lighter as well (wouldn't call that "excellent" condition anymore so even worse asking MINT prices for below excellent).
Anyway, this one came up for auction and I ended up getting it for $60 ($70 with shipping and tax), well within its price range, if not higher since it's not exactly perfect looking. I tried to clean it up more, but based on the top part where some coating on the lighter started coming off the button and then looks shiny/perfect underneath and that Flitz did almost nothing for the rest of the body, I came to the conclusion all the "marks" on it are actually on a "clear coat" Ronson used on many lighters to protect the finish from tarnish. You can either put up with the inevitable imperfections that get on it like these marks (which look far worse in the photo than real life) or you can clean it off with an abrasive like paint remover and leave the silver plating exposed (which can then in turn tarnish and the plating can come off easier). Now I'm starting to wonder about some of the other examples I saw that looked like the plating was off, when in fact, the slight "rose colored" look it has from certain angles IS the clear coat here, not the "white metal" underneath that I thought it was. So who knows....
In any case, the lighter already sparked great. It just needed some fuel.....
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