If they could afford this novelty, they had a better chance of striking a light, but not of surviving. Comments are closed for this object What's this? Most of the content on A History of the ...

The lighter would be filled with paraffin which is pressurised and lit with a flint (the flint mechanism has not survived the years). The manufacturer's name appears to be 'Brevettalto' or ...

It didn't occur to me until some time after I bought it, but this is the direct ancestor of the disposable plastic cigarette lighter. Apart from being made of silver, it works in nearly the same way.