Early
Masonic Goat Matchstick-Lighter
This tobacco lighter is circa
1915 and plays on the Masonic humor of riding the Goat! Although is simply a joke
to ride the goat in Masonic Lodges, but Woodmen of the World and a few other Orders
would engage their new candidates in a moment of this humorous
sport! Many of the Lodge Goat jokes can be found in this book "The
Lodge Goat and Goat Rides" and a real Goat Riding Tricycle can be
seen (here). This
kitschy knickknack is made of metal and is copper/bronze in color. The frame is intact but the
striker strip is missing. On both sides of the ram's saddle is the
Square and Compass with the Letter "G". The tail of the ram is the permanent
match and removes from the ram revealing the original wick. This item
measures 3" tall x 5" long x 2 1/8" wide. The match/tail measures 2.75" long.
It was made by the
Ronson lighter company started as
The Art Metal Works in 1897 and was incorporated on July 20, 1898, by Max
Hecht,
Louis V. Aronson and Leopold Herzig, in Newark, New Jersey.
Louis V. Aronson was a huge
creative driving force for the company; and, with a few business adjustments,
including the addition of Alexander Harris (1910-11)
as Business Manager, the company soon became World Famous!
All accounts state that Louis
Aronson was a gifted man, who at 16 years old set-up a money making shop in his
parents' home - before receiving a U.S. patent for a commercially valuable
metal-plating process he developed when he was 24 years old, and he sold half
the rights while retaining the Right to Use. "His experiments, which he has been
conducting since his early youth, resulted in 1893 in the discovery of a process
for electrically producing tinplate. Much money was expended upon improving the
process... and has been of great practical value to the whole industry.
Retaining its rights, he sold half the patent rights, and later used part of the
proceeds to open the Art Metal Works in Newark, N.J.
Soon the company was producing a variety of high-quality Lamps,
Book ends, Art Statues and other decorative items, prized today for their detail
in the collector marketplace.
For further reading on the Lodge
goat-riding (click here)
