Lighters, Salt/Pepper Shakers, and Metal Figurines
One of the things I find from time to time are cigarette lighters. Most of the lighters are Zippo brand. The Zippo Manufacturing Company was founded in 1932 and is based in Bradford, Pennsylvania. The first Zippo lighter was produced in early 1933, having been inspired by an Austrian lighter of similar design made by IMCO. (See my blog HERE on the IMCO lighter I found earlier.) After World War II, the Zippo lighter became increasingly used as advertising by many diverse companies that printed logos and other ads on the shells through the 1960’s. Other manufacturers in my collection are Ronson and Evans. Ronson started producing lighters in the 1920’s, and Evans lighters were patented in 1927.
The two lighters above are samples of Zippo lighters with advertising on the shells. On the left is Lehigh Safety Shoe Co., Emmaus, PA. Hand etched below was the owner’s name: “Larry”. On the right is Oreland Supply Co. Oreland is a town just a few miles northwest of Philadelphia, and the only “supply company” info I could find was for Oreland Building Supply, which might be the same company—or not.
Some lighters were clearly gifts. The one above marked “Larry” may have been a gift, or Larry may have engraved his own name on the lighter. But this lighter (above), is clearly a gift as the inscription reads “To Bob From Linda 2-8-63”. I don’t know if Bob and Linda had a fight and Bob gave the lighter a toss in the woods? Or did he just accidentally lose it while out hiking or hunting? I prefer to believe it was accidental and that Bob and Linda are still together.
I can’t find a manufacturer on the Statue of Liberty lighter, so I’m not sure how old it is. I imagine it was a souvenir purchase someone made while visiting that iconic landmark. The middle lighter is an Evans, and if I had to guess, I’d place it from between the 1930’s-1940’s. On the right is an embossed Zippo that may be a Gettysburg or other battlefield souvenir lighter that dates to 1996, according to the codes stamped on the bottom. This appears to be a relatively rare lighter as I’ve never located another exactly like it online, although I found one that was similar, but had a white background and a different date code.
I have found a few salt and pepper shakers over the years, but probably more of the metal tops without the shaker. These seven are complete; three are glass, which gives you an idea of why the tops are often found without the shaker. The other four are all metal, making them much easier to find with a metal detector. Just last year I was detecting around an old home site and found a very small sterling silver container with perforations in the top. It seems small for a salt shaker, but I’m not sure what else it could be. Unfortunately, it is partially crushed.
On the left; this looks like cut crystal and would have really been beautiful when new. In the center; this is the tiny sterling silver shaker with a dime for scale. On the right; this is a McCormick Spices shaker, so it may have contained something other than salt or pepper.
The last collection in today’s blog are some metal figurines. Some of the soldiers date to the 1930’s, I believe. The Charlie Chaplin figure dates from either the 1930’s or the 1960’s because I found a couple like it on the internet, and the dates given are in conflict. In my opinion, the 1930’s makes more sense, but I’m not sure. The gorilla I found six or seven years ago when I was detecting in the middle of the woods. If I remember correctly, I detected three or four hours that day, and other than some shotgun shells and other hunting trash, this gorilla is the only thing I found that day. I can’t find any photos or info on the internet about it. It would be nice to know when it was made and how it found its way to the middle of the woods.
Thank you for the comments and notes, Angie. Good points, all.
The past is still with us thanks to you.