Vintage art deco style chrome lighter this unusual shape lighter is in working order may require lighter fluid 8 1/2 cm tall 2 cm wide 2 cm depth some age related wear
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The history of handheld lighters can be traced back to prehistoric times, when people first learned to tame fire. The first lighters were made by striking two hard materials together to create a spark.
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Early lighters
Döbereiner's lamp
Invented in 1823 by German chemist Johann Wolfgang Döbereiner, this was one of the first lighters
Noiseless match
Invented in 1836 by Hungarian chemistry student Janos Irinyi, this match lit more smoothly than previous matches
World War I and improvised lighters
Soldiers used matches to find their way in the dark, but the initial flare gave away their position
Soldiers improvised lighters out of empty cartridge cases, sometimes with a chimney cap to make them more windproof
Lighters in the 20th century
Pist-O-Liter: Released by Ronson in 1910, this was one of the most well-known classic lighter designs
Zippo lighter: Invented by George Grant Blaisdell in 1932, this lighter was known for its reliability and "Life Time Warranty"
Cricket disposable lighter: Launched in 1961, this was the first disposable lighter
Bic disposable lighter: Released in 1973
Fuel changes
Early lighters used naphtha as fuel, but butane became more common in the 1950s
Butane created a more controllable flame and was less smelly than naphtha