Life, 1929-04-19 · page 7 of 52
Life — April 19, 1929 — page 7: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is primarily a **Ronson lighter advertisement** disguised as editorial content—a common practice in early 20th-century magazines. The framing narrative describes a bet between cigarette smokers at the Ziegfeld Theatre during *Show Boat* (a famous 1927 musical). One man claims his Ronson lighter never fails to ignite; the other skeptically challenges this reliability. The "joke" is that Ronson lighters are so dependable they become a status symbol and conversation piece. The ad emphasizes precision engineering and instant performance—key selling points for luxury lighters of the era. The small inset photograph shows "The Ronson Game," apparently a novelty competition among lighter owners, suggesting Ronson had cultivated a devoted consumer culture around their product. This represents advertising-as-entertainment, when brands leveraged social situations to build brand loyalty.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
THE RONSON GAME... A NEW INDOOR SPORT A duel to a finish between ciga- rette lighters! All over the country Ronson owners, proud of the fact that their pet lighter never misses, are challenging other owners to a miss-and-out contest, “WE WERE SITTING IN THE LOUNGE OF THE ZIEGFELD THEATRE IN NEW YORK, BETWEEN THE acts or Show Boat.” “Of course I win— A RONSON NEVER MISSES FIRE” “We were sitting in the lounge of the Ziegfeld Theatre in New York, between the acts of Show Boat. “Jack pulledoutacigarette, but when he went tolightit his lighter missed on the first try. “Better get a Ronson Lighter like mine,’ I jokingly told him. “Is that so?’ was the answer. ‘Well, my thumbslipped, that’s all. I'll not only back my lighter in a finish race against yours, but a quarter says you miss first.’ “So we started to count as the tiny flames leaped —‘one,’ ‘two,’ FUP... it’s Lit ° RELEASE... i's Ou ‘three,’ ‘four,’—on up to ‘twenty- six’, Then Jack’s flint sparked, but no flame came forth, “Tt’sa shame to take the mon- ey,’ I said, ‘for I was betting on a sure thing. Don’t you know a Ronson lights every time?’” And thatisn’t all. The ease and speed of this lighter are just as remarkable as its certainty. One hand is all you take. One motion is all you use. Faster than the eye can wink, the wick spouts flame. A flip and it’s lit. Release.and it’s out. With a Ronson there’s no ONSON wheel to spin. The thumb merely presses a clean, smooth surface. Positive, instantaneous, each Ronson Lighter is as precise as a fine watch, as sturdy as asteel die. There are pocket styles for men and women, for business, sport and evening use, as well as table models, in scores of beautiful fin- ishes, many priced at $5 and rang- ing up to $3,000. Art Metal Works, Inc., Aronson Square, Newark, N.J. In Canada: Dominion Art Metal Works, Ltd., 64-66 Princess Street., Toronto, Ontario. comicbooks.com