20th century bookends by Ronson

Auntique & Uncle Tony

Sellers of Antique Bookends, Vintage Glass, & Collectibles

Louis V. Aronson (1869-1940) while still a student in the mid 1880s, registered his first patent for the electroplating of metal. In 1886, he sold his patent, raising $5,000, to start the Art Metal Company in New York City. The following year, he moved the company to Newark, NJ and changed the name to Art Metal Works.

Ronson is best known for cigarette lighters. Aronson invented the “safety match” in 1897, and the first mechanical cigarette lighter in 1910. But throughout the 1920s and 1930s, The Ronson Art Metal Works was one of the most prolific and creative of all art metal bookend producers. In 1915, he copyrighted his first pair of bookends, and by 1936 over 150 copyrighted bookends, (available in 16 different finishes), appeared in his company catalog. By 1928 the company was traded on the American stock exchange as Art Metal, Inc., and opened sales offices and showrooms around the world. Even though their bookend production went out with the 1930s, Ronson still has worldwide presence today, with their home office in Somerset, NJ.

Click on a photo below to view more detail about the item.

Ronson Art Metal Works