History of Antique Pipe Lighters

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     One handled brass and no-handled silver lighters are the most common.  Earthenware ones were possibly quite common at one time, judging by their frequent illustration in old Dutch art, but they were fragile and most were broken.  The following photo shows the earthenware ones in my collection.  The ones on either side are typically Dutch.  The one in the center is charred inside and has air vents in the side of the bowl, but may not be a brazier.  The person I bought it from says it is an incense burner from an old Mexican church.

Where were they made?  Most publications say they have a Dutch origin and this would explain why some were made in New York, a Dutch colony .  Spain and at least three of its former colonies, Mexico, Peru, and Argentina, made them as well. The Spanish/Dutch connection may be because Spain once occupied Holland, ending with the 30-year war in 1648.  I would not be surprised if a few were made in each of the Dutch and Spanish colonies world wide.  A few were also made in Germany, France, and the Scandinavian countries, frequent traders with the Dutch. Some were also made of Sheffield plate, presumably in England. For some unknown reason, Spanish silversmiths made mostly two-handled ones in Spain, but made mostly no-handled ones when they came to Mexico.

When were they made?   While pipe lighters usually are not date-marked, we can assume that they began to be made as soon as tobacco became popular in the 1600's and ceased to be made when friction matches became available in the mid-to-late 1800's.  Nevertheless, the "Sanborns" marking on two of my Mexican no-handled ones could be interpreted to mean that they were made in the 1930's, long after matches became plentiful.  I prefer the explanation offered in Anderson's book that some 19th century silver was left unmarked and unsold.  Later, to satisfy the tourist trade (and possibly to get around some legal requirement) some over-zealous 20th century dealers marked these old pieces with imitation dies.  Sanborns, on the other hand, left with old unmarked, unsold pieces but not wishing to mislead anyone,  possibly used their own modern mark on some of these. This does not explain why anyone would purchase an obsolete brazier, unless it was purely for its artistry and beauty, with no need or intention to use it as a brazier.

 Reproductions:   I am sure that several copper/brass ones I have seen are recent reproductions or were made for some other purpose.  For example, I have seen six one-handled copper ones that do not  look old.  Each has a deep, two-piece bowl, a relatively short (less than 2 3/4 inch) wooden handle, and crude, flattened-wire legs. Three of these are paper-labeled "Delta - Made in Holland." Four others are identical except for having cast brass legs. Another uses pinched strips of brass for legs.  I am guessing that these were made in the last 40 years as crude incense burners or decorative pieces.  Also, American antique shops have numerous  footed cast iron vessels resembling shallow miniature cooking pots, mostly marked "1-2 spider," that should work quite well as pipe lighters.  However, the makers may have never seen a pipe lighter and simply created something (a souvenir ashtray?) that would work as a pipe lighter, by accident.  I have also seen a miniature cooking brazier (like a pipe lighter except that it has three small pot-holder posts rising from the rim) that was of recent manufacture.  All this maker needs to do is leave off the pot holders and he will have faked a pipe lighter. A Spanish silversmith's school  made at least one two-handled "chofeta" after the usual time period, but it does not copy any old one and the craftsmanship is superb.  At least three toy pipe lighters were made, but I do not count them among the "real" ones.  The following photo shows my collection of ones that are doubtful, mostly because they were made after matches became plentiful.  If any others show up I will post a warning on this web site.

How were they used?  There was also variety in how they were used, as illustrated in old Dutch paintings.  To light a pipe, many smokers used ember tongs to lift an ember from the lighter and bring it to the pipe.  Others thrust their clay pipes and cigars into the bowl of the lighter to get a light from the embers without using tongs. This must have been the technique used to get a light from smoldering peat.  Some publications refer to the use of sulfur matches and other easily ignited materials such as tapers or candles, lighted from the embers, to subsequently light the pipe. Some embers did not come from a stove or fireplace, but were created in the bowl of the lighter by burning something there called "court charcoal."

Rarity:   While they were always rare in the United States, one book (Brongers) says that at one time every Dutch household had a silver, brass, or earthenware brazier.  I suspect that most of the silver ones were melted down and made into something more useful after friction matches made them obsolete.  The brass ones may have been melted down during the war years to make munitions.  The earthenware ones were fragile. Those that are left are rarely imported into the United States because the dealers here usually do not know what they are.  Our museums have few examples, and even our National Museum, the Smithsonian Institution, did not have one when I checked about 25 years ago.  As a measure of relative rarity, I estimate that, on average, I see at least 50 sauce pan/brandy warmers for every pipe lighter in American antique shops.  I use this comparison because sauce pans are similar in size and also have a wooden handle, which I look for as I scan a shop's display.  Of course, sauce pans are unlike pipe lighters in that they have a deeper bowl, a pouring lip, and no legs or liner groove.
 
   While pipe lighters are rather rare in the United States, rarer still is the person who recognizes them, especially the two-handled and no-handled variants. My purpose is to change all that!  Help me by sending more photos, comments, corrections, translations, etc. and I will use this new information to revise and improve this web site.  You are welcome to reproduce these pages to aid your searches and to help me spread the word about pipe lighters. (revised 10/09/2003)