Vintage Bronze Fisherman Wall Lighter

I’m very excited about this unique vintage item found at a flea market in Medford New Jersey for just $5.00.  When I saw it, I had no idea what it was, but learned from the vendor that it was an old fisherman wall mount cigar/cigarette lighter.  The fisherman had a  pipe in his mouth and a button on his chin. 

What drew my attention to it initially was the quality and uniqueness of the piece.  I had never seen anything like it during any of my flea market travels before.

The seller did not seem to know much about the lighter except that, she didn’t know whether it worked or not.  In flea market world, that usually means that it doesn’t.

Since I don’t smoke anyway, the fact that it didn’t work had no sway on my decision to purchase it.

The old fisherman’s face was beautifully detailed.  My thought was that it would make a great wall art piece in my foyer.

I could see by the cord and bronze patina, that the lighter had some age to it and I couldn’t wait to go home to research the piece.

You won’t believe what happened then.  During my research, I found one like it in working condition, listed on Ebay for $500.00.  That particular seller dated it to around the 1920-s. 

Not only that, there was a different person selling two heating elements for this particular type of lighter and was only asking $20.00 for both. Needless to say, I purchased them.

After inserting one of the heating elements in the fisherman’s pipe, I pushed the button on his chin. Suddenly, his eyes lit up and his electric pipe got hot.  You can imagine how excited this made me.

In the end, I spent a total of $25.00 for a unique vintage bronze fisherman wall mount cigar/cigarette lighter, that turned out to be one of my favorite flea market finds.

Please share some of your favorite and unique flea market finds with me.