Bleriot Paris Brass Motorcycle Headlight Lamp, circa 1919

Table petrol lighter designed by Tiffany & Co. Beautiful and unusual antique table petrol lighter, created in Paris France by the Tiffany & Co., back in the 1919. Crafted after the WWI as a trench-art piece in solid brass with high polished finish and embellished with a round flat holed piece, carved from natural white nacre. It is mounted in a round flat base and is fitted with a thumbwheel and a chained snuffer lid. This antique lighter should be a great conversation piece. Trench Art This is a term used to describe objects made from the debris and by-products of modern warfare. Trench Art is usually associated with the First World War, although similar items have been produced in other conflicts too. Most trench art was made by servicemen to pass the time when not in the front line. Weight: 124.7 Grams, (79.94 Dwt). Measurements: Diameter of 42 mm and a height of 94 (1.65 x 3.68 Inches). Hallmarks: Stamped with the maker's mark, attached with the French tax plaque Ministere Des Finances and signed, "TIFFANY & CO. FRANCE". Ministere Des Finances Lighter Tax 1911-1945 Historic Taxation Data On 10th December 1910 the French state adopted a new tax regulations on all devices indented to produce spark or fire by friction, or by any other means, and of the combustion of a flammable substance. Since 1st January 1911 every lighter in France that was intended for sale in the French market had to be taxed and adequately marked. To confirm that the excise duty was paid to the Ministry of Finance a special duty metal plate (stamp) was attached (usually welded) to the lighter by the lighter manufacturers. The fees charged by the French state were high but the tax rates levied by the state were varying depending on the type and finish of the lighter. Following tax rates were used: 2 French francs for common pocket lighters, 5 Fr for pocket lighters made of silver, 20 Fr for luxury pocket lighters made in gold, 5 Fr for common table/desk lighters (lower 10 cm), 10 Fr for table/desk lighters (over 10 cm) made of silver, 50 Fr for luxury table/desk lighters (over 10 cm) made of gold or platinum. Between 1911 and 1916 a simple cooper plate was used which had the date 1911 engraved. Later, between 1916 and 1945 a new plate (undated) was introduced with the letters "C" and "I" (stands for indirect taxes) and a profile of Mercury (patron god of financial gain, commerce and messengers) with an inscription "Ministère Des Finances" (Ministry of Finance). Two shapes were used for the plate – oval for table lighters, the other one for pocket lighters. Additional to the two duty plates a marking "BL" (Briquet de Luxe, eng. luxury lighter...

Scale model of a Harley-Davidson motorcycle in a silver finish. Harley model #1200 with excellent detailing including license plate "EH 80".

Vintage Cromwell Motorcycle Crash Helmet. A fine motorcycle, pudding basin shaped helmet made in England by Cromwell. The helmet with silver and blue paint with the words 'Surrey' an...

Vintage leather motoring gloves, gauntlets. A nice pair of leather motoring gauntlets by Hutchinson, London. The brown leather gloves are wool lined and made in England. They are us...

Original Japanese film poster from the 1968 film “The Girl on a Motorcycle”. The Art work on this Japanese poster is unique to the films Japans re...

Paris 1919 - 1929 Art, Vie et Culture (art, life, and culture), French book by Vincent Bouvet et Gérad Durozoi, 2009. Paris was an international melting pot of arts and letters during the inter-war period. Between the parade of the Allies in 1919 and the one of the Germans in 1940 on the same Champs-Elysées, Paris experienced a fruitful cultural and intellectual period for 20 years, open to the avant-garde and faithful to the best of tradition. In the period between the two World Wars, France maintained its status as a significant economic, military, and colonial power. The fame of French culture is centralized in Paris, from which ideas and fashions radiate. Artists and creators come from all continents to the City of Light to draw their inspiration and gain recognition in the eyes of the world. During the "Roaring Twenties" that followed the euphoria of victory, Paris shone with a thousand lights. The "Lost Generation," the one of Hemingway and Fitzgerald, is the most significant foreign colonies that animate the nights of Paris who discovers jazz. But the bohemian lifestyle of Montparnasse attracts painters and sculptors from the four corners of the globe, such as Chagall, Giacometti, Miro, and Calder, to the studios, cafés, and bars, such as La Coupole. A chameleon genius, Picasso simultaneously experimented with all the paths, including those of nascent surrealism. Matisse, Léger open academies. The School of Paris brought together painters as varied as Soutine, Derain, Van Dongen, and Foujita. Abstract art set...