Life, 1929-03-29 · page 27 of 36
Life — March 29, 1929 — page 27: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is primarily an **advertisement for Ronson lighters**, disguised as editorial content about a social game. The "cartoon" element is minimal—mostly a photo-story format typical of 1920s-30s advertising. The premise: a Ronson owner challenges competitors at an upscale New York nightclub (the Heigh-Ho Club) to a "lighter duel." Each person's lighter must ignite on command; whoever's fails first is eliminated. The Ronson owner's lighter allegedly worked 255 consecutive times without failure, while rivals' lighters quit early. **The point:** This is product demonstration disguised as entertainment. By framing the lighter as a status symbol among "smart young people" at a fashionable club, the ad appeals to aspirational consumers. The competitive "challenge" format suggests superiority—your lighter versus theirs. There's no political satire here; it's pure marketing, exploiting the era's fascination with gadgetry and social one-upmanship. Modern readers might find the advertisement's blunt consumerism striking, dressed up in the language of leisure and sophistication.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
The RONSON CHALLENGE A NEW GAME Have you met it yet, this challenge toa miss-and-out contest of ciga- rete lighters? Allover the country Ronson owners, enthusiastic over the sure-fire of their lighters, are now suggesting this new game. ACROUP OF SMART YOUNG PEOPLE PLAYING THE RONSON LIGHTER GAME, SNAPPED AT THE HEIGH-HO CLUB, FASHIONABLE NEW YORK CITY KENDEZVOUS WITHOUT A MISS 255 CONSECUTIVE TIMES Ronson owner routs pet lighters of friends in duel to a finish at Heigh-Ho Club Aaa RTER each, miss and drop out, that was the bet. “There were six at our table, with four makes of lighters represented. Mine was the only Ronson, “At the count of ‘one’, each flint sparked; but only five wicks leaped into flame. The first man was out. “Steadily the count mount ‘three,’ ‘four,’ ‘five,’ ‘six.’ At the count of ‘nine,’ a second lighter ‘two,’ dropped out. At ‘seventeen,’ another fell by the wayside. At ‘twenty-three,’ a fourth failed to light, and at ‘thirty- one’ I was alone. “Just for the fun of the thing I went on to see how many times my Ronson would light without missing. To the amazement of everyone but myself, the total was 255. At that, I think my thumb grew careless on the 256th try.” Though this performance is good, it is not exceptional. And not only is Ronson a sure lighter, it’s a speed lighter as well. One hand is all you take. One motion is all you use. Faster than the eye can wink, the ONSO . IT LIGHTED wick spouts flame. A flip and it’s lighted. Release and it’s out. With a Ronson there's no wheel to spin, no sore thumb, no smudge on finger or glove. Automatic, positive, instantaneous, each Ronson lighter is as precise as a Swiss watch, as sturdy as a steel die. There are styles for men and women, for busi- ness, sport and evening use, in scores of beautiful finishes, many priced at #5 and ranging up to $3,000 for jeweled presentation models. Art Metal Works, Inc., Aronson Square, Newark, N. J. In Canada: Dominion Art Metal Works, Ltd., 64-66 Prin- cess St., Toronto, Ontario. comicbooks.com