Dunhill Aquarium Lighters Ignite Collectors’ Passion – WorthPoint

Smoking may be largely out of fashion today, but the demand for antique and vintage ashtrays, cigarette cases, pipes, and other related collectibles remains red hot.

Among the items sparking collectors’ admiration are Dunhill aquarium table lighters produced by the British luxury goods firm Alfred Dunhill, which have become luxury collectibles.

Hand-crafted and hand-painted Dunhill table-top aquarium lighters, which typically depict scenes of tropical or fresh-water fish, combine art, history, and practicality that’s hard to match. Too big and beautiful to be tucked inside a pocket, these are meant to sit on a shelf or table as decorative pieces when not in use.

Collectors avidly seek aquarium lighters—Winston Churchill was reportedly a fan and kept one on his desk—who love them not only as stylish smoking accessories but also as iconic mid-century pieces and valuable investments: most examples fetch thousands of dollars.

A LEGACY OF TIMELESS CRAFTSMANSHIP

With smoking being frowned upon today as a significantly harmful habit and on the decline since 1964, it may be hard to imagine a time when it was the height of fashion and people everywhere had a cigarette, cigar, or pipe in their hand and brandished all kinds of accompanying sophisticated accessories. And while nicotine may now be out, the enthusiasm for these accoutrements like table lighters remains with collectors in a big way.

Alfred Dunhill’s aquarium pieces are among the most coveted and sought-after table lighters by eager collectors and dealers. Though the brand was producing many types of luxury lighters starting in 1923, the elegant aquarium lighters stood apart.

These lighters are named for their aquatic fish and designs that resemble miniature aquariums. Crafted by master engraver Ben Shillingford, the aquarium collection was launched in 1949 to great acclaim and lasted through the late 1950s.

Aquarium table lighters were a huge hit due to their complexity of composition and amazing ingenuity—no two are alike. Each piece and corresponding box were made from Lucite, which gives an illusion of movement. The aquatic-themed panels were reverse intaglios made by Shillingford, who used dental tools and drills to carve them meticulously. The panels were then hand-painted and applied to the lighters’ bodies in four distinct sections. As the aquarium line expanded, the designs became more ambitious, with varying depth and intricacy.

The lighters were made in four different sizes: giant, which was just under a pound unfilled, half-giant, standard, and service, the smaller and rarer size. Giant and half-giant were designed to be centerpiece table lighters, while the standard and service were more portable models. They were also available in various metal finishes, including gold-plated, silver-plated, and chrome-plated.

Nearly all aquarium lighters on the secondary market are vintage pieces, but Dunhill released new limited editions in 2023 to commemorate the company’s 130th anniversary.

NON-AQUATIC DESIGNS HOT COMMODITIES

Shillingford made most of Dunhill’s aquarium lighters, but the husband-and-wife team of Allan and Margaret Bennett also designed them. She was responsible for pencil and watercolor blueprints and would also backpaint the panels after her husband carved them.

While the majority of aquarium lighters feature designs of either fresh or saltwater fish, some rare examples feature various avian motifs, cars, historic cruise liners and ships, and hunting scenes. Non-aquatic aquarium lighters tend to sell for the highest prices.

One table lighter with a fox hunting motif sold for a new world record of approximately $21,400 in April 2024 at UK auction house Chiswick. This sale beat Chiswick’s previous record in 2022 for a lighter with a bird motif by the Bennetts.

The top-selling aquarium lighter recorded in WorthPoint’s Price Guide is also one of these rare exceptions. In 2017, a lighter featuring the ocean liner RMS Queen Elizabeth, which operated from 1938 to 1968, sold for $17,500.

COLLECTING AQUARIUM LIGHTERS

Because they are nearly all one-of-a-kind works of art, Dunhill aquarium lighters can be challenging to acquire. Most collectors who own one know what they have and won’t easily part with it, so if you ever come across an aquarium lighter while out thrifting, you’ve won the collectible jackpot, as they are rare to find in the wild.

If you wish to secure one, your best bet is to buy it from a reputable auction house, antiques dealer, or a trusted seller at e-commerce sites like 1stDibs, Chairish, or eBay. The lighters currently offered at these sites range from $5,500 to $51,800 for a rare half-giant gold-plated piece featuring the horse Nicholas Nickleby and his jockey, Willie Snaith, winning the British Royal Hunt Cup race in 1955 that was commissioned by the horse’s owner.

Prices for sold lighters captured in WorthPoint’s Price Guide over the last three years range from $870 to $12,900. Needless to say, Dunhill aquarium lighters are no impulse purchases.

Their superb craftsmanship is one factor contributing to these lighters’ high price tags. Hand-carving each one’s intaglio designs and hand-painting the decorations ensured that each lighter was unique. The lighters are also made of fine materials, have durable construction, and in business for more than a century, the Dunhill brand has an enduring legacy and reputation.

It’s easy to see why Dunhill aquarium lighters have such a devoted following of discerning collectors who want to own a beautiful and functional piece of art with historical relevance.

Adina K. Francis has been a writer and editor in the antiques and collectibles field for more than 20 years. She has a bit of an obsession with the Victorians and thinks that dogs are one of life’s greatest gifts. 

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