Featured Any collectors of vintage lighters out there?

Howdy! I just dug out this beauty. I know who the character is, and I know about when it was made, but I'm hoping to find more specific info on it.

The character is Gobbo, and it's from 1909ish. Later Gobbo items had his name on it. It's marked L.V. Aronson, not Ronson, so that also suggests it's an earlier piece. What I'm hoping is someone here might have one of the two main lighter reference guides. I have access to four separate library systems, including New York, and none of them seemed to have any of the books. I was looking for "Ronson the World’s Greatest Lighter", or "The Golden Age of Cigarette Lighters", and I even tried simply "cigarette lighter".

I'm also guessing that the stuff inside the base is asbestos. Can anyone confirm or deny?

Thanks

 

Wow, that is very nice GabatGH I have a lighter book at work, I can look tomorrow if you don't get any information before then.

 

Much appreciated!!! What do you do that you have a lighter book at work?

 

I have a small store where I buy and sell old and/or collectible stuff

 

Since you know about Gobbo, I'm assuming you know his origin?
For those who don't

"Gobbo, a cherubic figurine with a tilting head, a huge smile and fat hands resting on fat knees, was made to be placed on an automobile radiator cap. An advertisement in The Scientific American for May 15, 1909, said, "THIS IS THE MASCOT that has brought good luck to the Maxwell during the entire 10,000 mile non-stop engine run. Attach one to your radiator cap and you will have no hoodoo."

From this site about Billikens
http://www.churchofgoodluck.com/Billiken_Lore.html




I have The Big Gook of Cigarette Lighters - If it is in there, I didn't find it. The book is all pictures and doesn't give any info on makers.

 

Maybe someone with a Worthpoint account can tell you how much this sold for.
https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/vintage-copper-lucky-gobbo-billiken-wick-table

 

It appears that something is missing on both sides. A striker?



How would this work? Where is the flint? I think what you think is asbestos maybe wadded cotton to hold the lighter fluid, but I'm not positive on that.

 

Nice Good for you!

 

I don't think so. I've seen a number of these now and none of them have had any indication of something held in those strips. My thought is that on the end of the wand is the spark producing item, which you drag along that channel to create fire. Then you put the wand back in the chamber to suffocate the fire. When the wand is next removed, some of the fibers are taken with it, repeating the process. The only thing is that there's no way to refill it, so I'm not really confident with this...

https://www.ebay.com/itm/202168184749, https://www.ebay.com/itm/292401028133, https://www.ebay.com/itm/222606580385, https://www.ebay.com/itm/291810857104

 

I don’t see a shot of inside the base but it’s gray, soft and fuzzy then it probably is.
I don’t think there is a valid reason for there to be any in there.
However...there may be something heavy such as plaster to help keep it from moving around while being used. It could just be dirty, maybe covered in ash.

 

It's the sixth picture, the one with the wand.

 

Two more pics

 

So the wand goes in there hot then.
If so it does look like it may be. If it’s hard you can leave it or seal it. I can’t imagine anyone would find sealing it a reduction in value.
If there is any loose you might want to dispose of that properly maybe at your local hazardous waste place BUT, be careful of that for they may freak out.

 

I still think the material is cotton wadding. You probably poured the lighter fluid into one of the holes. Do both little sticks look the same as the one you pictured?

I was having a hard time understanding how this would work. Have found the answer on Wiki.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lighter

Permanent match


A permanent match lighter with the metal 'match' leaning against the shell

A typical form of lighter is the permanent match or everlasting match, consisting of a naphtha fuel-filled metal shell and a separate threaded metal rod assembly —the "match"— serving as the striker and wick. This "metal match" is stored screwed into the fuel storage compartment, the shell.


The fuel-saturated striker/wick assembly is unscrewed to remove, and scratched against a flint on the side of the case to create a spark. Its concealed wick catches fire, resembling a match. The flame is extinguished by screwing the "match" back into the shell, where it absorbs fuel for the next use. An advantage over other naphtha lighters is that the fuel compartment is sealed shut with a rubber o-ring, which slows or stops fuel evaporation.

There has to be a place to strike against. And there is, it's on the metal along the upper edge. I still think something is missing - You can see how that piece curves for something to slide into. That's not there for decoration.

 

This sold for $203.05

Thanks for the info on 'Gobbo'...never heard of him before!

 

Very nice item!
I am not a lighter collector, but 2 got into the collection.
One for being a car, the other one for being a U boat...

 

Hi,
We had wonderful knowledgeable collector for lighters. Her name was Karen or Linda. Hopefully she still looks in occasionally.
greg

 

From the description, I would guess those side thingies held flints.

An old toothbrush will clear away some of the accumulated gunk.

The figure itself isn't that hard to find... it was even used a car mascot So I would guess it's a separate piece mechanically fastened to that base. Which means there's a good chance the base is out there with other stuff attached to it.

 

WOW!!!
~
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_submarine_U-519
~
I've been aboard the U505 twice and before she was finally, permanently, put under cover.