This metal matchstick is then struck to a flint, igniting the fuel-soaked wick inside the tube. Another type of manual lighter, commonly known as a permanent match, contains a well of lighter fuel in which a metal-enclosed wick sits in. The manual striking type, such as a Zippo, has the user physically make the spark come in contact with the wick by means of turning a flint wheel or striking the flint themselves. The manual striking type, the semiautomatic type, and the fully automatic type.

The shapes and designs reflected the modern aesthetic, such as the early Art Deco patterns and styles.Īt that point, there were three basic types of lighters. By the 1920’s, lighters had become functional as well as artistic. Lighters of the early 1900’s are hard to find, as many have fallen into disrepair, or rusted due to poor construction. In fact, some crude lighters have been housed in match cases. This shape, roughly rectangular with rounded edges, became the prototype for almost all cigarette lighters. By keeping them inside metal cases, they stopped the danger of pocket fires. In the 1800’s, safety matches had not yet been invented, so match users were victims of accidental ignitions far too often. The basic shape of the modern cigarette lighter can be traced back to its ancestor, the match holder. Lighter development advanced greatly during World War I, as soldiers found them much more useful than matches, which caused a large spark when lit, easily giving away the positions of soldiers in the dark. Various other types of lighters appeared throughout the late 1800’s, most of them making use of a wheel striking a ferrocerium flint, or a similar flint-like substance. The Feuerzeug was a huge success, with an estimated 20,000 in use by 1828.īut the Feuerzeug, in all its effectiveness, was not very safe, and would probably be illegal today. The device created hydrogen gas in a tube from a reaction of sulfuric acid and zinc together, which would ignite after passing through a platinum sponge. He created the precursor to the lighter, which he called the Feuerzeug (often referred to as ‘Döbereiner’s Lamp’). The lighter wasn’t invented until 1823 by a German chemist named Johann Wolfgang Döbereiner. The match wasn’t invented until about 1805, and early matches were expensive and dangerous. Just by browsing eBay auctions for ten minutes, for example, I recently found a lighter shaped like a lion’s head, one made of jade and gold, and an electric lighter in the shape of a woman’s face that hangs on the wall.Ī flame we can carry in our pockets is something that we take for granted, but it was much harder to make fire in earlier times. In this article, Eric Beeson talks about collecting vintage cigarette lighters, including brands such as Zippo, Ronson, and Dunhill.Ĭigarette lighter collecting is a hobby that never gets boring.

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