Let me begin this post by saying that I’m not a smoker, never was, never will be. But as much as I don’t like smoking, I love the paraphernalia that went with smoking. Ronson, a division of Art Metal Works of Newark, New Jersey, made some of the best lighters in the Moderne / Art Deco style. Founding the company in 1897 by Louis V. Aronson, Art Metal Works became known for their fine work making bookends, small statues and hood ornaments.

 

In 1906 with the development of safe flint material, the production of a practical small size lighter would be possible. In 1913 Aronson applied for his first Liter (lighter) patent. 1926 proved to be a pivotal year for Aronson, he introduced the Banjo lighter. With a single push of a lever one ignited and extinguished the flame on this lighter. Marketed under the Ronson trade name it proved so popular that demand exceeded the supply.

 

 

A patent for a slightly different lighter mechanism came later in 1926 and in 1927 Ronson offered the De-Light Lighter. Soon The Art Metal Works (under the Ronson trademark) were producing lighters of all types. And by the early 1930’s Ronson lighters were the best on the market.

 

Ronson made a quality product in the 1930s and offered models in different designs. Today one can find these some of these lighters with no difficulty and with little outlay of cash. My collection of smoking paraphernalia only has five Ronson lighters, but I’m sure there will be more in the future.

 

Ronson Mastercase

 

The Mastercase was one of Ronson’s most popular lighters, introduced in 1933 it stayed in production for approximately 20 years.  This lighter came in many case variations that changed with the times. The one I own is from about 1938 and reflects the streamline style that was popular in the mid – to late ’30s. Chrome banding surrounds the faux tortoise enamel and on the front cover the chrome bands alternate with cream color stripes. To customize the lighter the owner could have the chrome rectangle engraved with initials. It’s relatively small size makes it fit into a pocket easily and the slopping sides of lighter at the top make for a handsome design.

 

 

The Mastercase retailed for $7.95, quite a hefty sum, that is the equivalent of $143.00 in 2018. The price did not seem to be a deterrent to customers in the 1930’s as one can easily find them at antique stores and flea markets today.

 

 

Twenty Case

 

Another lighter / cigarette case, the Twenty Case, proved to be as popular as the Mastercase. The name comes from its ability to hold an entire pack of cigarettes. Its larger than the Mastercase and the design is a bit more plain. The larger size also came with a larger price. The Twenty Case retailed for $15.00, almost double the Mastercase. In production for many years, it came in a variety of styles. The one in my collection, is a combination of chrome striping and the faux walnut or tortoise enamel. Introduced in 1936 as with the generic name “lighter – cigarette case”.  By mid-1937 Ronson had dubbed it the “Twenty Case”.

 

 

 

 

 

Hound Dog Striker

 

Along with the Touch Tip, the Striker lighters are probably the most desirable Ronson Lighters for collectors. It is evident the craftsmanship that the Art Metal Works put into these well made lighters. To use striker lighters, one pulls out the wand, which is resting in lighter fluid, from the top of the dog’s head. Then sliding the wand down the flint on the dog’s snout will cause a spark and ignite the tip of the wand.  Ronson offered a variety of animal striker lighters. Some of the other animals include an elephant, a very Art Deco pelican and a bear.

 

 

 

 

Lighters like these usually sell for a pretty hefty price. I bought my Hound Dog striker from a local (Rochester, NY) consignment shop and not an antique store. This was lucky for me, since they priced it far below market value for such a lighter.

 

 

These type of strikers were in production from the mid through late 1930s, a relatively short production time.  As a result of this they are not easy to find today.

 

Touch Tips

 

In my opinion the most collectible of all Ronson lighters are the touch tips. Some of these lighters typify the streamline, machine age aesthetic of the mid-1930s. Today, touch tip lighters in good condition often command high prices. Touch tips are similar to strikers as both use wands.  But instead of running it down a flint, the wand pushes down a button next to a wheel that scrapes the flint causing sparks to ignite the end of the wand. Touch Tip lighters even made it into the movies. Here is a clip of Humphrey Bogart using a Touch Tip from 1941’s The Maltese Falcon. Click on the image below to see the lighter in action.

 

The lighter used in the film is the Ronson Touch Tip desk lighter with watch. Someday I would love to add one of these to my collection.

 

To date I only have two touch tips in my collection. One I picked up at the Old Mill Antique Mall in Mullica Hill, New Jersey. The model is the Grecian and the price was low, less than $30.00. The low price does reflect condition, it’s not in the best of shape. While not as Art Deco as other touch tips, it is still a handsome lighter.

 

 

By far the most special lighter in my collection is the Ronson Junior Bar (also know as the Barmaid). I came across this lighter in a store in Boothbay Harbor, Maine back in the summer of 1990.

 

 

This lighter retailed for $19.80 back in 1938, which is the equivalent of $354.00 in 2018. The Junior Bar has a great Art Deco look to it, with the “walnut effect” enamel and chrome banding. And all the “bar” pieces were still intact on the top. The only piece missing was the Touch Tip wand. At the time I acquired it had no idea of the value of these lighters, but I did know the $20.00 price was a real bargain. The lighter isn’t in perfect shape, especially on the “barmaid”, which suffers from some pitting and fading of the gold highlights.

 

 

After owning the lighter for a couple of years the missing wand started to bug me, so I began to hunt for one. Every time I would go to an antique store I would ask if they had any Touch Tip wands and the answer was alway no. One antique store owner offered me $100.00 for the lighter, and told me “those wands are almost impossible to find”. I didn’t believe her. And even though I still had no idea the value of the piece, I knew it would be very hard to find another Junior Bar lighter. Finally in 1995 the “impossible” happened!

 

 

Now for any readers who are too young to remember the world before the internet, we did have a resource to help us find things. We would turn to a large book called the “Yellow Pages”. Issued by the local telephone company every year, for free, the “Yellow Pages” listed the phone numbers for business. (The name “yellow pages” comes from the yellow paper used to print the numbers on; residential phone numbers were in a separate book with white pages.) Sorry, I digress, so I looked in the phone book and found a place that repaired Ronson Lighters and sold replacement parts. I forget the name of this shop, but I do remember that it was located in a building on West 57th Street in Manhattan, not too far from Fifth Avenue. This place had dozens of different types of Touch Tip wands. I picked out the one that went with the lighter and purchased it for $32.00. The wand cost $12.00 more than the lighter, but it was worth it. By 1995, I knew the value of the lighter and it was a lot more than $52.00. Around the same time I noticed the engraving on the “barmaid”. It reads – “Irwin to Burt 1939”. I can’t believe it took me around five years to discover that.

 

 

Today my Junior Bar has a treasured place atop my 1940 Philco console radio in my TV room “man cave”. I doubt that I will ever come across one that I could afford to buy again. But I will be keeping my eye out for other Ronson Touch Tips on my “freakin’, ‘tiquen” trip to Ohio later this year.

 

 

Anthony (one half of the Freakin’, ‘Tiquen Guys)

If you enjoyed this post you might enjoy this earlier post

Cocktails for Two . . . or More