1940s Art Deco Chromed Finished "Speed" Automatic Pocket Lighter by Snap-Lite Corp

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Rare Chrome "Speed" full-automatic pocket lighter with the early snuffer shape featuring a chrome steel streamlined styled body by Snap-Lite … Read more Rare Chrome "Speed" full-automatic pocket lighter with the early snuffer shape featuring a chrome steel streamlined styled body by Snap-Lite Corp. of New York in the late 1940s.

The Speed was a legally produced copy of the Kaschie K37, patented in 1935 by Karl Schieder in Germany. Snap-Lite was established on July 24, 1945 by Brazilian and French citizens—Alfredo W. Doux and Francis M. Heyberger. Doux filed the U.S. Trademark application for "SPEED" on August 3, 1945 and filed two U.S. Design Patents on December 29, 1945 (both are assigned to Snap-Lite Corp). The first Doux design patent features a round snuffer, mimicking the Kaschie K37. Doux's second design patent shows an angular snuffer shape, a copy of the Kaschie K36 likely not produced. The Speed Lighter was advertised in U.S. newspapers by late February 1946.

Dimensions: 2.25" height x 1.5" width x 0.5" depth

United States, 1940 See less