If you’ve quit smoking years ago – or have just done so for New Year – don’t throw out smoking accessories, especially vintage items, without at least checking their potential value.
At one of the final auctions in Dublin of 2016 – a Christmas auction of art and collectibles at Whyte’s in Molesworth Street – a 1950s table cigarette lighter by British maker Alfred Dunhill sold for €4,600. The estimate was €3,000-€4,000.
The “Aquarium” lighter features Lucite (acrylic glass) panels decorated with aquatic plants and fish and dates from the 1950s. The design was used on both the pocket and the table versions of the lighter.
Whyte’s said “Aquarium” lighters were designed and hand-made from the early 1950s until the late 1960s by designer Ben Shillingford (1904-2000), who developed the carving and hand-painting techniques used on the Lucite panels.
Anyone watching The Crown – a serial drama depicting the life of Queen Elizabeth II – on the web-based Netflix TV channel, will be struck by (or reminded of) the ubiquity of smoking in the 1950s. But, while the habit has declined precipitously since the mid-20th century, high-quality smokers' accessories, including lighters, are very collectible.
And, not surprisingly, if this niche category lights your fire then you won’t be alone.
There are various associations devoted to the subject. A website, otls.com, run by America's "Lighter Collecting Community" has announced a convention in New Jersey for June 2017 while the Lighter Club of Great Britain' (lighterclub.co.uk) lists several books, manuals and catalogues for collectors including The Golden Age of Cigarette Lighters and Smoking Collectibles.
