Ronson Art Metal Works 1920 Very Rare Art Deco Sterling Silver Plate Desk Box
Art deco desk box designed by Ronson.
An exceptional and very rare desk box, created in New Jersey United States by The Ronson Art Metal Works Co. during the art deco period, back in the 1920. This rare desk box has been crafted in solid bronze with a plating thick layer of sterling silver. Mount in four elaborated baroque sabots and fitted with a three barrels hinged lid. Embellished on top with an art deco decoration motif. The interior has a tray made up in gilt bronze to fit cigars or miscellanea.
This box is extremely well made, with solid construction and very nice care and attention to all details. This surely is a very decorative collectors piece and a great conversation item. In gorgeous and exceptional grade of preservation, in almost mint condition.
Weight: 551.98 Grams, (1.22 Pounds).
Measurements: 184 mm by 108 mm by 45 mm (7.25 x 4.25 x 1.75 Inches).
Marks: Stamped with the maker's mark and signed, "FASHIONED BY RONSON NEWARK NJ USA SILVER PLATE".
The Ronson lighter company
The company started as The Art Metal Works in 1897 and was incorporated on July 20, 1898, by Max Hecht, Louis Vincent 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. In the 1910s The Art Metal Works were producing very good quality Hood Ornaments and gained a reputation as a dependable supplier of same. All accounts state that Louis Aronson was a gifted man, who at 16 years old set up a money-making shop in his parent's 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.
Louis Vincent Aronson was an American inventor, industrialist and philanthropist who is best remembered as the inventor of Ronson lighters. "He was a son of Simon and Jennie Aronson, who were natives of Prussia. He was born December 25, 1869, in New York City, and there his boyhood was spent. Aronson was an exceptionally gifted young man who graduated from public school at the age of 12 before entering a New York Technical School specializing in metallurgy, practical metal working and mechanical drawing. At the same time, he set up a laboratory in the basement of his parents' home where he experimented with plating processes and turned out money-making items while he devised ways of metalizing common items, in a durable finish of matte gold, including flowers, butterflies, animal claws and baby shoes.
Aronson natural ability for designing was honed at the technical school and served him well throughout his life. He excelled and completed the School’s four year academic program in three years. When he graduated in 1886, at the age of 16, he was qualified as an Expert Metallurgist, Draftsman and Designer, he also had a high level knowledge of Chemistry. He returned to the school five years later as an instructor in metallurgy for several years before devoting all his time to his own company. When he was 24 years old, he sold the rights to a commercially valuable metal plating process according to Urban Cummings book Ronson, The Worlds Greatest Lighters, Wick Lighters 1913–2000. He gained public recognition when he won an award in 1893 from the Belgian government for the creation of the first non-toxic match, and young businessman Aronson received 50,000 Francs, equaling $10,000 in U.S. dollars. In 1897 he received a U.S. patent (592,227) for a match design (called the Wind-match) that would light in windy conditions or when wet. He continued working on his match designs including inventing the “Birds Eye” or “Kitchen” match that had a dual-tip design in 1903; this was an important safety improvement because friction matches of the day would sometimes light accidentally especially when stepped on or while in one’s pocket. He realized that placing a small friction ignition chemical on the tip instead of the entire match-head greatly limited accidental ignition. This style of match is still in use today.
Literature: Urban K. Cummings, Ronson, the World's Greatest Lighter : Wick Lighters 1913-1966 Bird Dog Books, California. 1992. For this exact model Illustrated.
Note: This model was produced in very low quantities, the silver plate version is very rare.
Condition: The overall condition of this box is excellent. Beside the little normal wear, there is in superb mint condition with no damage to any part. This piece has been carefully inspected to guarantee the condition and authenticity.
INVENTORY REF: D020823MMSU/.1532
