Lighters to collect that were used in movies

[VonMagnum]

I guess Ronson made a subsidiary company called American Metal Works and introduced the Rama Spin (sounds a bit like Ronson, eh? I think that was intentional) and had a "Rama Spin" Lighter designed to compete with Zippo's lighter. I don't think that worked out so well in the long run given Zippo eventually bought out Ronson.

Anyway, this Rama Spin Lighter (1947) was brand new in the box never used and about what a two regular Zippos sell for (and less than half what my book says it's worth in "excellent" condition, let alone NIB so I couldn't pass it up....

 

[VonMagnum]

Marathon "KLIX" Cigarette Case and Compact with Matching Lighter Made by Ronson (1938-1942?)

-Listed as NEW IN BOX

I'm not sure where the cigarettes are supposed to go. It seems tiny inside and I assume the powder would go in the lower chamber as the way it opens it would dump it if it didn't, but the powder puff goes on top. I see no place for cigarettes and they'd have to be pretty small, IMO (even smaller than a Case 10 holds, let alone filtered which are longer).

 

[joberg]

Aren't you suppose to remove the powder holder to fit the cigs in? I remember a friend of my mother having that same kind of set-up and not using the powder holder (she said she didn't need it since, according to her, she had a flawless skin) to store her cigarettes.

 

[VonMagnum]

Aren't you suppose to remove the powder holder to fit the cigs in? I remember a friend of my mother having that same kind of set-up and not using the powder holder (she said she didn't need it since, according to her, she had a flawless skin) to store her cigarettes.

I dunno. The only instructions inside were how to open the case.

 

[VonMagnum]

Ronson Crown Table Lighter (1940s / early 50s) #4 has arrived. It looked great on the outside in the photos (almost new looking) and even has nice green felt on the bottom so I couldn't pass it up at the price I got it for, but of course, looks aren't always what they appear. There was a stuck flint (so common) that had to be cleared and the wick was pretty much below the snuffer level and had to be replaced which meant a good hour pulling cotton.... But it's now ready to go....

Pointing Right

Pointing Left

Lit

 

[VonMagnum]

I was watching Bullets or Ballots (1936) again with Edward G. Robinson and Humphrey Bogart and on top of the Ten-A-Case lighter shown earlier in the thread, there's not just the one I remembered, but two Ronson Baronet lighters (same as Gutman Lighter in The Maltese Falcon) in the movie (rated "Extremely Rare" in the Book of Ronson these days and both in the same office! I guess they weren't quite so rare in 1936....Or someone really liked them that set the rooms up for this film).

About 14 minutes in we see the first one and scene (notice the dog on the ashtray; Ronson made a lighter with a dog similar to it):

Bogart lighting up with it:

Later at around 1 hour 05 minutes into the movie we see there's not just one Baronet in the room, but two separate ones.

There's the one that was shown earlier in the film still sitting under the same lamp:

There's also the one sitting on the boss' desk (that Bogie just killed to take over and sitting just in front of his hands/cigarette). That's in the same scene, showing that they're two separate lighters as the camera pans over to the guy by the lamp twice):

Here it's sitting right below his hand (a second later he cups it with his hand);

The same lighter model in The Maltese Falcon (1941) once again:

Now if I could just figure out how to remove the lighter from the case display without damaging something.... (not obvious at all):

 

[VonMagnum]

I used my new carbon steel and diamond file set to remove the monogram initials from my Sterling Silver Adonis lighter from Dark Passage (1947) and then used some fine grit sandpaper and then FLITZ all over..... It's shining like it's made of chrome in the China Cabinet now (for some reason it just doesn't seem to show in a top/down photo)....Hmmm, it looks like I missed a bit of Flitz in the cracks there on the left/right side too).

Before:

After:

 

[joberg]

Good research and for removing that lighter from its base...is there some kind of screw/slot at the bottom of the sleeve? You know, the one holding the round lighter?
Thinking of what the prop dept. had in its possession in terms of different lighters can be...mind boggling

 

[cjunco1937]

Given the holiday season, any good lighters in It’s a Wonderful Life?

 

[cjunco1937]

Clearly the most memorable is this one but there’s one where George lights the cigar that Potter gives him also

 

[scarf man]

 

[VonMagnum]

Given the holiday season, any good lighters in It’s a Wonderful Life?

I dunno. I've never watched that movie.

Good research and for removing that lighter from its base...is there some kind of screw/slot at the bottom of the sleeve? You know, the one holding the round lighter?
Thinking of what the prop dept. had in its possession in terms of different lighters can be...mind boggling

If there's a screw, it's under the green felt on the bottom so I doubt it. I figured it'd just slide off a rail or something, but it doesn't budge and I don't want to press too hard. It's hard to believe it's glued. It might rotate off (many pocket lighters had stands you could buy that threaded into the fill caps, but I don't want to break it and the fill cap is on the lighter insert not the bottom of the main body. I was hoping I'd find someone that's had one of these cigarette box combos that knows, but even Russ at Ronson Repair wasn't sure and had never seen that combo before.

 

[cjunco1937]

Clearly the most memorable is this one but there’s one where George lights the cigar that Potter gives him also

View attachment 1648269View attachment 1648270

Here is the one that I was referring to that Potter gives to George (ie Jimmy Stewart). Not sure what it is.

 

[VonMagnum]

The way that lighter lifts its arm up there for It's A Wonderful Life, my money is on it being an Evans pocket lighter of a similar style to these two:

 

[VonMagnum]

I just ordered a clear glass/lucite Ronson Nordic lighter for $20 + S&H + tax in excellent condition. I'm looking around Etsy and I see the same basic lighter and they want over $300 for it! OMG. You could probably get a Sterling Silver Dunhill for around that much money....

In fact, I've had my eye on a Mini Rolla-Lite in Sterling for some time for $350 (one thing for most sterling lighters is they tend to be in better condition on average (people tend to take better care of nicer things) and often don't need polished as much as they tarnish much slower), but I just can't can't quite see spending that much just because it's solid 92.5% silver alloy instead of plated (pure silver isn't exactly ultra expensive for a few ounces at $23.80 per ounce right now and yet you see some lighters wanting over $1000 compared to $50 just because it's Sterling! It's not GOLD for god's sake.... You'll see tea sets made of Sterling that weigh 5x as much for $100, but a Sterling lighter is worth 20x as much as the silver plated version? ).

Anyway.... Some of the prices online, especially on Etsy are so disconnected from reality it's unbelievable. I don't know how they can sell anything. I guess they're looking for suckers that have no idea what something is worth and are looking for a Christmas gift or something....

I'm looking for a "Colonial" lighter (boy it loves to return "colony" lighters with that search which is a different lighter altogether) and there's someone on eBay that has one in pretty good condition (not sure it's excellent or not; it's certainly no polished) and he's re-listed at least once now and has a starting bid of $159. It's worth $45-75 in EXCELLENT condition according to my new book. He keeps getting zero bids (no wonder; no one wants to pay 2x-3x what something is actually worth just because someone "feels" like they should get more). I'll just wait for another to appear. Plenty have sold for $40 in the past.

The same is true of the Ronson Tabourette lighter on there right now. I would like one for my collection. I don't want to pay $200 when the book price is $100-200 for "excellent" once again and yet the going price for the past half dozen sold on eBay has been $75-150 (low/high for 1 each and the other 4 were between $80-100 including a really nice leather one that looks far better than the straight line one on there. Plus the button is set wrong (doesn't retract the snuffer all the way so I wonder if there's anything else going on and it'll at least need to be taken apart and adjusted to work correctly). I'm pretty sure even if I offered $130 or even $140 they'd be insulted too. I've seen it before and usually avoid offering below 25% off the asking price unless I don't care what their response is. Otherwise, I just move on. In general, I find that you really can't convince someone that wants $300 for a $50 lighter that they're asking way way too much. They just tend to not believe you for some reason.

I suppose this belongs in the inconsequential venting thread....

 

[cjunco1937]

The way that lighter lifts its arm up there for It's A Wonderful Life, my money is on it being an Evans pocket lighter of a similar style to these two:


View attachment 1648846 View attachment 1648847 View attachment 1648849 View attachment 1648848

Yeah that certainly looks like a match for the model (if not the cosmetics), based on the shape, rivet placement etc. nice

 

[cjunco1937]

I just ordered a clear glass/lucite Ronson Nordic lighter for $20 + S&H + tax in excellent condition. I'm looking around Etsy and I see the same basic lighter and they want over $300 for it! OMG. You could probably get a Sterling Silver Dunhill for around that much money....

In fact, I've had my eye on a Mini Rolla-Lite in Sterling for some time for $350 (one thing for most sterling lighters is they tend to be in better condition on average (people tend to take better care of nicer things) and often don't need polished as much as they tarnish much slower), but I just can't can't quite see spending that much just because it's solid 92.5% silver alloy instead of plated (pure silver isn't exactly ultra expensive for a few ounces at $23.80 per ounce right now and yet you see some lighters wanting over $1000 compared to $50 just because it's Sterling! It's not GOLD for god's sake.... You'll see tea sets made of Sterling that weigh 5x as much for $100, but a Sterling lighter is worth 20x as much as the silver plated version? ).

Anyway.... Some of the prices online, especially on Etsy are so disconnected from reality it's unbelievable. I don't know how they can sell anything. I guess they're looking for suckers that have no idea what something is worth and are looking for a Christmas gift or something....

I'm looking for a "Colonial" lighter (boy it loves to return "colony" lighters with that search which is a different lighter altogether) and there's someone on eBay that has one in pretty good condition (not sure it's excellent or not; it's certainly no polished) and he's re-listed at least once now and has a starting bid of $159. It's worth $45-75 in EXCELLENT condition according to my new book. He keeps getting zero bids (no wonder; no one wants to pay 2x-3x what something is actually worth just because someone "feels" like they should get more). I'll just wait for another to appear. Plenty have sold for $40 in the past.

The same is true of the Ronson Tabourette lighter on there right now. I would like one for my collection. I don't want to pay $200 when the book price is $100-200 for "excellent" once again and yet the going price for the past half dozen sold on eBay has been $75-150 (low/high for 1 each and the other 4 were between $80-100 including a really nice leather one that looks far better than the straight line one on there. Plus the button is set wrong (doesn't retract the snuffer all the way so I wonder if there's anything else going on and it'll at least need to be taken apart and adjusted to work correctly). I'm pretty sure even if I offered $130 or even $140 they'd be insulted too. I've seen it before and usually avoid offering below 25% off the asking price unless I don't care what their response is. Otherwise, I just move on. In general, I find that you really can't convince someone that wants $300 for a $50 lighter that they're asking way way too much. They just tend to not believe you for some reason.

I suppose this belongs in the inconsequential venting thread....

It’s good info. Thx

 

[VonMagnum]

5 more table lighters supposedly arrived today (didn't have time to open the package before I went out.

 

[VonMagnum]

I bought a lot of 5 Ronson table lighters off Etsy. They have some tiny nicks on them, but are otherwise in great condition (they all even have the green felt or cork still in place on the bottom!). One needed an adjustment to get it sparking correctly. Two are different versions (Leona in green and Newport in gold) than ones I already have, but the rest are all duplicates (Georgian, Mayfair and Diana) of lighters I've shown on here already and more importantly, I'm running low on Ronsonol again and lighting up 5 would take a lot of lighter fluid. Based on the wicks and sparking, I have no doubts they work fine.

They're in there somewhere.....

 

[joberg]

Sweet Jesus What a collection (saw the Cibbi glasses also)