Lighters to collect that were used in movies

[VonMagnum]

Evans Rhinestone Pocket Lighter (Different Rhinestone Design)(1950s?)

This is a different rhinestone alignment compared to the previous one I picked up. It's fancier looking, but somehow I think the other one is a bit more classic looking and has a gold colored mechanism whereas this one is silver colored. It works great, though with a massive spark.

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[VonMagnum]

IMCO JFA/IFA "Extra" Lighter (1927)

This early IMCO lighter is similar to the "IFA" (JFA) from 1926 except that it has slanted vents on the outer part similar to the 4000 Streamline instead of round despite it being a round lighter. Again, I have no idea what the thinking was behind some of the design changes, but this one is much harder to find than the 1926 IFA/JFA (There's some question of whether it's an "i'" or a "j" on it since it's a cursive script.

The company seemed to go with JMCO for the Austrian market and IMCO for international designated ones, making JMCO marked lighters more rare. The "J" stands for Julius named after its founder Julius Meister (JMCO is Julius Meister Company (JFA would presumably be Julius Feuerzeuge Austria or IFA would be IMCO Feuerzeuge Austria where Feuerzeuge means lighter in German). I've never read what the 'i' in IMCO stands for, but my guess has been International, although it could very well be something else.

The brass lighter was heavily tarnished as shown in the first photo. It took me well over an hour to polish all the nooks and crannies (I took it apart to get everything to make it look more like new) and put a new wick and cotton packing in it and reassembled and inserted a new flint and it works great now.

I think there's only one more major variation of this cylindrical "shell" design left I don't have, which is the "bottle cap" intermediate "JFA/IFA" design (my original version has no outer shell with vents, but has a cap that pulls upward and outward to expose the wick. That next variation added the outer shell and vent, but still didn't have the wire that pulls the cap off for you.

That was followed by the round hole version with the wire with both the bottle top or the newer bell top (the one here has the bell top), the "extra" slanted vent version shown here, followed by streamline 4000 and 4400 octagon versions. Some came in nickel or silver and eventually by the mid 1930s, brass was a thing of the past (too bad IMO as it looks like gold shined up) and this streamline (although several more had varying writing engraved and MEB imported it to the USA as well with its logo on them).

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[joberg]

^^
Quite beautiful that one

 

[VonMagnum]

Ronson Royal Crown Derby Table Lighter with Bone China (1954)

This is the 2nd one I purchased. I couldn't pass it up. It was already a good deal at $30 (usually go for $50-150) and after watching it to think about it for a day or two (and see if the seller offered any discount), the seller offered to discount it to $20. I couldn't pass it up. It had a nasty stuck flint in the lighter insert that may have been there since it was manufactured (the wick looks brand new as if it were never used), but otherwise was in perfect condition.

The Royal Crown Derby name is actually derived from the Royal Crown Derby Porcelain Company that made the bone china pattern for Ronson in England. You can actually buy the same pattern in tea cups, plates, etc. for a full dinner set if you look for it on eBay. They also have other patterns including different ones for Evans lighters, etc. Ronson made the same Essex insert in the 1950s for a number of lighters including other china patterns such as ones by Lenox.


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[VonMagnum]

Ronson Viceroy Table Lighter (1953)

Not to be confused with Ronson's other "Viceroy" named lighter, which is a Rondette-like round pocket lighter, this is the 4th out of 5 total from the "V" series I've collected (the only remaining one is the "Vernon" which looks similar and thus far I've been unable to locate one for sale) that all came out around the same time in the early 1950s. Some of them aren't easy to find as the butane inserts are pretty all leaking at this point with no known repair parts available that I'm aware of to restore them. They were all early butane gas lighters using the same insert, which is the exact same size as the Canadian made Ronson Socialite lighter, which was a wick lighter so if I can locate some more of those inserts, the lighter bodies could be used with them. I've got a couple of the gas inserts that still work for a short while, but slowly leak gas from their seals so I've used one to take a photo of how it should have looked operating. This one's inserts seals were shot. The body was in great shape, though and the insert looks nice, but is unusable.

The other four "V" lighters were the Vera, Victor, Viola and Vernon. I've got photos of all but the Vernon previously in this thread.


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[VonMagnum]

^^
Quite beautiful that one

Did you see this one? (Lighters to collect that were used in movies).

It got lost on the end of the previous page here.

 

[joberg]

Did you see this one? (Lighters to collect that were used in movies).

It got lost on the end of the previous page here.

Wow...really bitchin' also

 

[VonMagnum]

Ronson Crown Cigarette Urn (1930s)

I picked this up for $8 + shipping + tax, figuring it would go well with one of my Crown lighters. Unfortunately, after I cleaned the heavy tarnish off of it, I saw it had someone's first two initial letters and full last name written on it.... (ugh). I went ahead and removed it with my file set, heavy sanding and polishing. Unfortunately, the brass layer is showing through now in that spot, but it's hardly noticeable in real life. Maybe I should put a logo or something etched there to cover it up...something collectible like Harry Potter (Goblet).

Click for larger view/slideshow (tarnished ebay photo, polished and polish with brass bit showing):

 

[VonMagnum]

JMCO (IMCO) Patent A (Ultimately Called the "JFA/IFA" Lighter Later)(1922)(2nd Version)

Edit: Date changed to 1922 for version 2.0 after finding a more accurate source)

Other than a theoretical 1918 version I've only seen one questionable photo of, I think this completes my "brass shell" set of early IMCO lighters. Some had different labels and some like this one were imported to the USA by MEB, but this is the 2nd "Patent A" design. It needed a good brass polish and a new wick, packing and flint.

The first one (pictured in the last photo below beside this one) had no sliding outer shell with vents and thus no wind protection option (you can have the wick behind the vents and thus protected from the wind by simply moving it down farther on the 2nd version onward through the 6th version), which the next iteration adds by using the inner cylinder/outer jacket system. The original 1st version had a sliding cap that was pulled upward and then down to light it.

The next (3rd) version (also dated 1926 by other sources, although I wonder if that's accurate... EDIT: Another site says 1922, which makes more sense) moves to a smooth (not grooved) snuffer cap (probably cheaper to make?) and adds drill holes midway up the rotating shaft were a wire is attached to a hook on the back used to pull the snuffer off when you pull down on the ring on the bottom (semi-automatic operation). This version you have to pull the ring (inner cylinder) down and then manually move the snuffer away from the wick.

The 4th Version known as the JFA or IFA "Extra" switched to slanted vents. I assume they work better in wind since all the remaining versions use them. The 5th version (4000 "Streamline") squishes the body down to a more compact or "streamlined" shape. The 6th version switches to an octagonal body. I'm guessing this was deemed stronger or something to that effect, but I have no idea for certain.

Technically, the 5800 model is also labeled JFA/IFA and seems like a progression in the sense it retains a separate flint wheel, but it goes back to having to move the snuffer off (this time as a hinge in the opposite direction) and uses the 4700 Triplex's "button" style spring pop-up to access the flint tube. Its body is more similar to the Triplex (rounded cylinder with a bottom cap marked) and seems a hybrid of the two. These are pretty rare so I assume they didn't sell very many as it seems kind of a backwards progression compared to the Triplex, which sold exceedingly well and was later upgraded to the 6700 "Super" version that is still made today and has been since 1956!

Thus,

Prototype = No Cap in photo I've seen, but otherwise similar to 1920 version. Could be a 1920 without a cap for all I know (1918)

1st iteration = Fully Manual Operation With No Wind Protection (1920)

2nd iteration = Wind Protection Added (1922)

3rd iteration = ("IFA" or "JFA") Semi-Automatic operation with wire to pull down snuffer when pulling on bottom inner cylinder (1926)

4th iteration ("Extra") = slanted vents (no idea purpose)(1927)

5th iteration ("4000 Streamlined") = squished body to take up less space in a pocket and continues slanted vents (1934)

6th iteration ("4400" in Austria; "Buddy" in USA) = octagonal body (no idea purpose of this shape)(1936)

7th iteration ("5800" IFA/JFA) = Reverts to manual lid open in opposing direction but uses the 4700's spring pop-up flint loader) with a grooved base. It bears less resemblance body-wise to the brass cylinders of the previous versions, but since it's labeled IFA/JFA, I've included it in the list. (1947)

These are my 7 lighters from the collection below starting with the 2nd version I just received:

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Patent A 2nd Version Photos:


Side-By-Side Comparison of 1st and 2nd Versions:


Patent A 1st Version (No Outer Wind Protection Shell)


3rd Version (IFA/JFA)



4th Version (Extra with change to slanted vents)


5th Version (4000 Streamline)


6th Version (4400)



7th Version (5800)

 

[VonMagnum]

Ronson New Yorker Lighter (1929)(Metal Version In Black)

This is my 2nd Ronson New Yorker Lighter (the New Yorker lighter also has a "New Yorker fitment" in it as that was used in several Ronson lighters whereas the New Yorker lighter resembles the top of the Empire State Building to some extent). The lighter came in two body versions. One was Bakelite plastic and the other was enameled metal. This one is black enameled metal.

The prior one (shown in the 4th photo next to this one) was green Bakelite plastic with orange highlights. I think someone changed the lighter mechanism on this one to a Ronson Standard from the "De-Light" mechanism along the way (different snuffer, lever and spark wheel/clutch set) as I don't think the Standard mechanism ever came on the New Yorker. It could easily be switched back with some spare parts, but it works regardless. Taking a closer look, I see the framing is slightly different on top so who knows, maybe later versions did use the standard fitment. I'm not sure how many years the New Yorker was manufactured. The Standard started showing up in the 1930s, although the De-Light continued to be made in various guises for some time (button/snuffers were updated a few times). You can see there's not a massive visual difference. It was probably for reliability or cheaper manufacturing costs.

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Comparison (Bakelite on Left; Metal on Right):

 

[joberg]

Ronson New Yorker Lighter (1929)(Metal Version In Black)

This is my 2nd Ronson New Yorker Lighter (the New Yorker lighter also has a "New Yorker fitment" in it as that was used in several Ronson lighters whereas the New Yorker lighter resembles the top of the Empire State Building to some extent). The lighter came in two body versions. One was Bakelite plastic and the other was enameled metal. This one is black enameled metal.

The prior one (shown in the 4th photo next to this one) was green Bakelite plastic with orange highlights. I think someone changed the lighter mechanism on this one to a Ronson Standard from the "De-Light" mechanism along the way (different snuffer, lever and spark wheel/clutch set) as I don't think the Standard mechanism ever came on the New Yorker. It could easily be switched back with some spare parts, but it works regardless. Taking a closer look, I see the framing is slightly different on top so who knows, maybe later versions did use the standard fitment. I'm not sure how many years the New Yorker was manufactured. The Standard started showing up in the 1930s, although the De-Light continued to be made in various guises for some time (button/snuffers were updated a few times). You can see there's not a massive visual difference. It was probably for reliability or cheaper manufacturing costs.

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View attachment 1721768 View attachment 1721769 View attachment 1721767

Comparison (Bakelite on Left; Metal on Right):
View attachment 1721766

Love the green better

 

[Thundawolf]

Gotta say, I've never really thought about lighters from film/history all that much, but the list you've compiled here is full of beautiful and amazing designs! Might be time to find space for a new shelf...

 

[VonMagnum]

Love the green better

Yes, I like it better also, but I couldn't pass up getting a metal one to compare. What I'd really like is a "butterscotch" one to go with the green one (it's orange with green marbling instead of green with orange marbling so they complement each other), but the only one for sale at the moment is from a guy in Canada I bought a catalytic lighter from (still need to get some methanol to try it) and he simply wants way too much for it in that condition (pitted chrome on the insert). In mint condition, it's supposed to be worth $250-300, but with conversion, it's around $265-285 on any given day.

I got the green one for $100 with pitted chrome and a broken mechanism (was able to remove the pits without hitting the brass layer, but it took almost two hours of painstaking polishing plus I had to fix the lighter, taking parts from a Rondette lighter). I got this one in near perfect condition (save wrong lighter mech parts swapped?) for $160. So I keep waiting for another to appear.

 

[VonMagnum]

I guess there's a model in-between the 2nd Version (1922) of the original trench lighter and the 1926 version as I just bought one marked "Okum" (meaning OK in German) from someone in Turkey that has the newer snuffer cap, but the older patent/fuel cap and lack of wire to pull the cap off like the 2nd version. I bought a damaged EXTRA model at a much lower price to use for missing parts as well (plan to move the flint spring to the 1st edition lighter and the cap to the Buddy version). The Okum one has the same fuel cap so I could move it to the 1st edition to have a perfect lighter, but the inner/outer jacket design of the 2nd design onward really needs something to pull down on the bottom....

 

[VonMagnum]

Ronson Wind ii Wick Pocket Lighter (1990s)

The Wind ii seems like another Ronson lighter that closely resembles the Zippo style of lighter and it was apparently made before Zippo bought Ronson so kind of a rip-off lighter. With that in mind, I was looking to get a Wind ii lighter towards completing a Ronson set (to compare with the previous Typhoon class) and I saw a photo of an interesting one with a Dirty Nelly Martini Mix ad that while a still made brand today has a 1930s look to it and that seemed more interesting than just a plain metal shell.

I thought I'd try to make my own instead after I found a bar sign for sale with the same brand label. The sticker itself cost about 50 cents to print on a waterproof vinyl sticker sheet. I think it turned out OK for a first attempt and now that I have a good template for the lighter dimensions to fit, I could make any number of different labels for one. They're certainly easy enough to apply and remove. The lighter plus sticker cost about $12 total and the lighter was brand new old stock never used.

Front / Back / Lit

 

[VonMagnum]

Ronson Wind ii Wick Pocket Lighter (1997) MK II

I wasn't totally happy with that first sticker attempt so I did a little Photoshop editing to make it longer and printed it darker and more saturated.

 

[VonMagnum]

Ronson Leona (1949)

My 4th Leona lighter, this one in a dark red so now I have red, green & blue plus a white one with flowers.

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[VonMagnum]

IMCO Foxhole Rope Lighter (1940)

This is a different type of lighter in that there is no flame, but only glowing embers on the rope. So you never need any fuel other than the rope itself, but you still need a flint. It's good for outdoors windy/rainy conditions (the wind just makes the embers glow brighter, for example) and in a foxhole situation, there is no flame, just a red glow so as not to attract the enemy while you smoke your cancer stick (like they can't see a red glow?). This version was made in the USA. There's a "5700" model that's more or less the same made in 1940 also, but it was made in Germany (Austria) instead. Maybe it's just me, but Austria (absorbed into Germany by 1937) brand IMCO being still made in the USA in 1940 seems odd somehow. I guess we didn't enter the war until 1941....

I guess this one was never used (still had a stuck flint in the tube) because despite massive sparking, the rope wouldn't catch an ember to save my life. I forgot (seeing as this one doesn't have the instruction sheet, which I've read before, but forgot about) that you need to light the rope once with another source (lighter/match) to char the tip of the rope and then it lights very easily thereafter, oddly enough. So I lit it to see if it would catch with the Leona and then found (ala the instructions I forgot) that it would catch thereafter almost every time. To put it out, you need the little cap attached to the rope and as you pull it down into the lighter, the cap tops it off and cuts off the oxygen (otherwise blowing on it just makes it glow/burn more). It's definitely an interesting concept, but perhaps not the prettiest display lighter. Dunhill and others also made very similar looking versions, but this knocks another IMCO off my list.

Front

Back

Lit Ember

 

[VonMagnum]

IMCO G55R (1980)

IMCO Gas Lighter apparently designed for pipes (diagonal flame). Same problem as most IMCO gas lighters, dead gas tubes and this one seems to be missing a flint and I'm not sure where it goes on this one....

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[VonMagnum]

I ordered another Ronson Wind II lighter (again dirty cheap) (probably be here in a few days).

I came up with three versions of a sticker design to consider (all three modified from other artwork with Photoshop. The left one is closest to the original, but didn't fit right without modification and frankly, I thought 2000s sounded out-of-date so I changed the artwork to 2020s, but then the white text part didn't quite sound right so I wiped it and put in a martini glass from the Dirty Nelly Ad and got rid of the Camel reference. Then I got some crazy idea of altering the artwork after playing with parts of it, repainting it and essentially making my own Dirty Nelly ad....

What do you think? Which one should I use, if any?