Vintage Cigarette Lighters

Bowers Lighters

Bowers

Bowers Sure Fire Slide Sleeve Lighter

This is the original round brass version produced beginning about 1930 and was produced in both crass and chrome plated brass. Though the flattened, oval version was produced as an improvement in the late 1930s, a black steel version of the original saw service in World War 2. The additional views are of the black version, but aside from color and construction material (brass / steel), they are the same lighter. Bowers of Canada in St. Thomas, Ontario also produced some of these lighters during their very brief operation between 1946-1948 - VERY hard to find!

Another View     Another View     Another View     Another View

Bowers Storm Master Tube Lighter

Produced in at least 3 versions during the mid-1930s. The arrangement of the material holding the fuel suggests these lighters were made to be used with alcohol as a fuel and would have been pretty much windproof due to the nature of the way alcohol burns and the bowl shape of the combustion chamber. Fuel was filled very simply from the top and, when full, the excess shaken out (typical for alcohol lighters); the flint was replaced using a bottom screw. These are VERY hard to find!

Interior View     Interior View    Store Display

Bowers Kalamazoo Slide Sleeve Lighter

This is the flattened, oval version, which incorporated improvements to the original lighter, and began production in the late 1930s. One is a brass version; it was produced before America was heavily involved in the war and shortages of brass took the lighters to steel construction. The chrome plated steel version was most likely shortly after WW2.

Bowers Bakelite Slide Sleeve Lighter

This lighter isn't mentioned in Bowers' historic information and I have seen only two - these particular examples. There are no markings on the bakelite tank. Since the outer body is steel, this was likely produced during or right after WW2 when brass and copper were in short supply.   

Bowers Flip Action Lighter

These rarely seen Bowers lighters were produced in the early part of the company's history - in the late 1930s. There were at least 2 different versions of this lighter produced, as shown. These were also "slide sleeve" as the sleeves slid up or down for a wind shield - though the examples I have are virtually like new, they don't "slide" - it much more of a serious "push".

Bowers Army & Navy Lighter

Produced beginning in 1942 and primarily during WW2. This steel lighter uses a fusee.
HeK-0CI

Another View     Another View

Bowers Striker Pipe Lighter

Introduced in the very late 1940s; very few were made. This has a wooden bowl and a striker mechanism in the end of the pipe for lighting. As is typical with old striker lighters, the flint bar is long gone from this near mint example.
KCK-0HA

Another View    Patent

Bowers No. 10 Lighter

Produced beginning about 1947

Store Display    Store Display    Patent

Bowers Peli-Can Lighter

c. 1950 Four versions of the Peli-Can used the same box with a mark for the particular version which was in the box (as illustrated in the pictures)

Another View     Another View     Another View     Another View    Another View     Another View    Store Display   Patent

Prototype Bowers No. 15 Table Lighter

c. 1960. This lighter seems to be the prototype for the No. 15 table lighter. The lighter base is not really finished and doesn't have fuel and flint access - instead the lighter pulls out of the base. The lighter that pulls out is a Bowers No. 10 with part of the bottom cut out to allow access to the additional fuel chamber of the full table lighter base. In all other respects, this is identical to the marked No. 15 - see the pictures for side-by-side comparisonsof this item with the Bowers No. 15 and No. 10.
EAL-OBB

Another View   Another View   Another View   Another View

Bowers No. 15 Table Lighter

c. 1960 . Die cast lighter body. Great lighter if there is a problem with flints as the flint tube unscrews from the base. The downside is that a lot of the fiber inside the lighter must be removed before it can be replaced since the long tube with threads on the end will not feed through the cotton wool wadding.
CIL-0EE

Another View

Bowers Storm Master Aluminum Lighter

This lighter does not have a model name on it and has "Patent Pending"; the box has the "Storm Master model name to identify it, though, so it is likely one of the earliest of the line of aluminum lighters produced beginning in 1955.

Bowers Sure Fire Lighter

The Sure Fire name, previously used on the slide sleeve lighters, replaced the Storm Master name shortly after aluminum lighters were made by Bowers - probably sometimne in 1955 or 1956.
HdK-00F

Another View    Patent

Bowers Series 100AT Table Lighter

Marked as produced in Japan for Bowers, Kalamazoo, MI.

Bowers 100 Series Lighter

Is this a Bowers lighter? Note the similarity of the lighter mechanism to the 100AT table lighter above. There is some question about it; checking directly with Bowers Manufacturing I found they are not sure since all records were destroyed in a fire in 1973. However, it follows a Bowers series number and is a Colibri style lighter, such as they did produce in Japan. Given the characteristics, I believe these are examples of Bowers lighters produced in Japan in the 1960s. On their website history, Bowers does say a pocket model of the 100AT was produced but they are unaware of any examples of it - this would seem to be that lighter.

Bowers 1000 Series Lighter

Early to mid-1960s. These were sold in lovely wood boxes.

Bowers 2000 Series Lighter

Early to mid-1960s

Bowers TL-100 Table Lighter

A rare and unusual lighter manufactured by Monarch, Japan, and labeled and sold by Bowers with a leather-like label on the bottom of the lighter that was also the padding to keep it from scratching furniture. The lighter is operated by the push button on the side. An identical model was also sold as a Fisher lighter and marked as such (though frequently misidentified on eBay as 'Fisker'). c. mid-1950s.