Lighters to collect that were used in movies

[VonMagnum]

I just bought another Ronson Savoy Lighter. I couldn't pass it up. $106 delivered in what looks like perfect outside condition. Its book price is $300-900 based on condition (one book) or $250-400 (other book). Either way it's a deal unless the mechanism is broken beyond repair (probably another stuck flint). When the 1990s Ronsonbook was made, there was only one known lighter. Obviously, eBay made it ridiculously easy to find people selling very rare lighters. I've seen four for sale in two years time. They were $17.50 brand new in 1954. That would be be $197.36 today by pure inflation.

 

[VonMagnum]

And I thought I had a collecting problem.....

Interview with Flavio

Table lighters collectors' guide

A blog about vintage wick and gas table/desk lighters.

table-lighters.blogspot.com

~3000 Ronson lighters....in 15 years. He's got some I don't think Urban Cummings knew existed (including what looks like a 4th Minton lighter with a dog). His whole house is all display cases in Italy. He only has one Baronet, though and it's not with a cigarette box...

 

[joberg]

Unbelievable Lots of Art Deco in there!!

 

[VonMagnum]

JMCO (i.e. IMCO) 3200 (1934)

A more "normal" looking pocket lighter compared to their more common "tube" style designs, this one is much harder to find. I'm not certain why only some early IMCO lighters are labeled JMCO. I'm guessing the "i" in IMCO stands for international while "J" is Julius in JMCO (Julius Meister & Company) as it does seem as though the models that were exported around the world were marked IMCO while early and more rare models meant only for Austria seem to be JMCO, but that is only a guess/observation. It seems surprisingly difficult to find out why they switched from JMCO to IMCO. This one is from 1934 (16 years after the company was founded in 1918) and many were already labeled IMCO long before that.

A very tight fit in the sleeve, this lighter pulls out similar to a Zippo and has a little drain screen on the bottom so you can just fill the outer cap half up with lighter fluid and insert the lighter into it to fill up (no velcro to pull aside like on a Zippo). Otherwise, besides the lack of a hinge to hold the top on (friction fit), it operates very similar to a Zippo style lighter with a little windscreen and a slightly different body shape.

Click for larger view (full sized insert appears to be 100% BROKEN. It will NOT insert them. Edit: It won't view the full sized images either. I've reported this in the forum thread. Hopefully, it's just a temporary glitch).

 

[VonMagnum]

Ronson Savoy #2 (1954)

This took about an hour to fix. It had a stuck flint and needed a new wick and packing. But I only paid $100 for it. It's supposed to be worth $400-600. I don't know if the photos will work beyond the thumbnails right now.





Both Savoy Lighters Side-By-Side

 

[VonMagnum]

Crown Camel Advertisement Lighter (Japan 1950s)

I picked this up at a nearby antique store for $10. They didn't have a good selection, but I figured what the heck. It had a stuck flint. After clearing that, it works fine.

 

[VonMagnum]

hiya were can i buy one of these lighters

Watching eBay for years on, sifting through all Colibri lighters (it has no name to search) is what I did until I spotted one and won it in an auction.

 

[VonMagnum]

I found and ordered another incredibly rare IMCO lighter from Poland. The sad thing is I cannot find out its name/model. No one seems to know this information, not even collectors that have it (it only says "IMCO" on the lighter and "Austria" on the bottom cap).

It's similar to this one with a different almost "carpet" like wrap (missing from the bottom half so I might replace both with something else):

There's a few other "tube" lighters like that as well.

Check Al Kranebitter's IMCO collection out (yowza). I guess it helps to live in the country of origin for most IMCO lighters.

Private Collection - Al Kranebitter (AUT)

www.lighterlibrary.com

Specifically, this one shows several of the ??? models from the image below:

Private Collection - Al Kranebitter (AUT)

www.lighterlibrary.com

Note that he has the lighter in question above in there with the "carpet" wrap on both pieces (bottom row in link above next to the tassel one).

Below are most of the IMCO models and names, but some are still "?" unknown names/models. I've marked a RED DOT by the ones I own a version of or have it on the way. As you can see, I'm not even close.

 

[VonMagnum]

I recently ordered an Austria made "Mini Fox" lighter that looks just like a fancier IMCO 6700 Junior. It's so similar in design that I'm wondering if these were actually made by IMCO or if they're copies. Some sites online suggest they are non-IMCO branded, but I haven't seen any actual evidence.

Mini Fox Lighter from the sale listing:

 

[VonMagnum]

I did a little polishing of the JMCO/IMCO 3200 (1934) lighter with Flitz™ metal polish....

Click for larger view & slideshow:

Lighter In Case


Before + 2 After (Facing Right/Left)


Before/After Lit

 

[VonMagnum]

I finally found a good closeup of the lighter on Klink's desk in Hogans Heroes from s01e14 (Oil For The Lamps Of Hogan). There's no doubt in this snapshot. It's clearly a Ronson Spartan lighter from the 1950s, not German and not period accurate.


Click for larger view:

 

[repy]

VonMagnum, any chance to get a link to the unmarked Imco poster please?

 

[SuperBoom]

I didn't go through all 25 pages, but the topic piqued my interest. I never intended to collect lighters in the beginning, but you do as one does in the progression of collecting Americana and Tobacciana items in the game of life and other pursuits. Not sure if it was mentioned outside of the first five pages, but I was always impressed with the early DuPont lighters, as it was very easy to discern in the early 30s/40s films on sound alone; part of the point i suppose.
Back when i owned a pipe and cigar shop, certain brands required us to buy so much product from their collective vendors and we ended up diversifying into a then relatively unknown German accessory company of which I can't remember the name at the moment, but they had some of the best, highest quality accessories I ever had the pleasure to use. Everything was exceptionally well-made, had some heft and the materials were top notch for wear and performance. I gave away a lot of their product line to friends after the shop 'closed', but couldn't part with a box of cutters and lighters that are somewhere in my cavern of crap I may have to dedicate some time to unearthing having read so many interesting posts of some absolute gems on this thread.

 

[VonMagnum]

VonMagnum, any chance to get a link to the unmarked Imco poster please?

There's a few variations out there. I can't recall where I found that one.

I'll just show both I have (clearly neither is complete):

 

[VonMagnum]

Ronson Heart Shaped Lighter (1937)

These are supposedly favored by collectors and thus are hard to find. I'm lucky to have gotten one for not too ridiculous price without any monogram and in reasonably good condition. First, the flint was stuck so I disassembled the lighter (it's an insert in the top) and cleared it. The lighter worked, but didn't have a very large flame. I had to replace the wick/packing to get the wick to a decent height and trim as the old wick was packed in so tight, it couldn't be lifted upward. It's a very small lighter, so that normally wouldn't take very long except the wire wick kept getting stuck around the flint tube (lack of space). I ended up using a non-wire wick (the smallest I have) to get around it. It works well now.

Click for larger view/slideshow:

 

[VonMagnum]

Corona Cottage Music Box Lighter (Year Unknown, probably 1950s or 1960s)

I have seen another one of these lighters for sale with a different lighter insert that wasn't a Corona so it's hard to tell if it's a replacement insert or they simply sourced the lighters from different suppliers. Corona is well known in Japan and around the world for their pipe lighters so better to have a Corona brand insert than a more generic one, I suppose.

The lighter insert works like any other and once cleared of a stuck flint, it started working great. The music box, which plays Für Elise by Beethoven was playing too slow so I oiled all the gears and it now plays at the correct pace (the winder is on the bottom and you can access the gears to lube with the lighter insert removed from the top without disassembling the house (screws on the bottom to do so, however). Overall, it's a pretty neat looking display quality table lighter.

Click for larger view/slideshow:

 

[repy]

There's a few variations out there. I can't recall where I found that one.

I'll just show both I have (clearly neither is complete):


View attachment 1706020 View attachment 1706021

Thank you so much!

 

[VonMagnum]

Mini Fox Lighter (1950s)

I'm not exactly sure who makes this lighter. It says Made In Austria and closely resembles an IMCO 6600 Junior, but with a fancier body.

 

[VonMagnum]

Germany Made Lighter imported by and branded "MEB" (Max E Bernhardt) (Presumably for US Sale) "Tube" or "Wheel" lighter (1912)

This one is pretty old. I just looked it up after polishing the brass and I could see the MEB logo on one side and Made In Germany on the other. According to the VCL site, it was imported in 1912 by MEB. I cleaned it up, installed a new wick and packing and it works great.

Click for larger images / slideshow:

 

[VonMagnum]

Neldun "Lipstick" or "tube" lighter (1940s).

This appears to Neldun's only lighter. Made in the USA. I thought the tube was kind of cool looking. It's tiny, but it works great.

Click for larger view/slideshow: