Silver Table Cigar Lighter
These silver table cigar lighter pieces bring period smoking rooms to life with functional novelty design.
Silver Table Cigar Lighter
A silver table cigar lighter is a smoking accessory designed to sit on a desk or smoking table for general use. These pieces appear across Victorian, Edwardian, and Art Deco periods in various forms.
The most common formats include classical oil lamps, Aladdin's lamps, and detailed novelties such as hunting horns, animals, and vehicles. Makers also produced smoking compendiums and cigar boxes incorporating lighting elements.
Examples originate mainly from English workshops spanning the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, utilising sterling silver and silver plate.
How They Were Made
Functional elements such as wicks, burners, and hinged caps were integrated into the metal designs. Some pieces combine solid silver with glass reservoirs, horn, or fabric components to complete the smoking apparatus.
Some lighters take the form of fire carriages, frogs, and swans, bringing eccentric Victorian humour directly to the dining table.
What Varies in Quality
Quality rests primarily in the crispness of the casting and the distinctness of the maker's hand on novelty models. Naturalistic forms like birds, snakes, and hunting horns show variance in how finely the texture and anatomical details are chased into the metal.
Substantial weight and balanced proportions distinguish the finer examples from standard production pieces. Maker attribution and well-preserved hallmarks provide further distinction between everyday items and masterworks.
Wright and Davies·Joseph Braham·William Comyns·Mappin and Webb·Elkington·Collingwood and Co·John Wilmin Figg·Gorham·Asprey·Goldsmiths and Silversmiths Co
The Silver Table Cigar Lighter Glossary
- Sterling silver
- A silver alloy containing 92.5 percent pure silver by mass, standard for quality British table wares. Most listed lighters bear hallmarks confirming this standard.
- Silver plate
- A layer of silver applied to a base metal core such as nickel silver. This technique offered an accessible alternative to solid silver production.
- Smoking compendium
- A fitted box or stand containing multiple smoking requisites, which frequently incorporated a central table lighter alongside storage for cigars and matches.
- Novelty lighter
- A lighter modelled in a humorous or decorative shape, such as an animal, castle, or vehicle. These pieces depart from standard lamp forms to amuse guests in smoking rooms.
- Hallmark
- An official stamp applied by an assay office to indicate the purity of the metal, the maker, and the year of production. British pieces typically show standard town and date marks.
Silver Table Cigar Lighter: Frequently Asked Questions
How were they used?
Users filled the reservoir with fuel and lit the cotton wick to provide a steady flame for lighting cigars after dinner. The attached snuffer cap was placed over the flame to extinguish it safely.
Guests gathered around the smoking table where the lighter sat as a functional centrepiece during social gatherings.
How do I date an antique lighter?
Dating relies on the legible hallmarks stamped into the silver, which record the assay office, maker, and specific year of production. Stylistic cues such as Edwardian neoclassical revival or Art Deco geometry also indicate the era.
Unmarked silver plated pieces are dated by their general manufacturing style and registration numbers where present.
How should I display a table lighter?
These pieces sit well on wooden sideboards, desks, or within dedicated smoking compendium displays alongside antique cigar boxes. Their sculptural forms make them effective focal points in traditional interior settings.
Care should be taken to keep silver polished gently without abrasive cleaners to preserve the original chased details.