Enameled lighter belonging to Etta Moten Barnett: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

This is a metal and enamel lighter belonging to Etta Moten Barnett. It is a small refillable rectangular lighter with enameled scenes of San Francisco on the front and back. One side has an image of the Golden Gate Bridge across San Francisco Bay. The bridge is rendered in red enamel, the bay in bright blue. Brown hills are visible in the distance and a lighter blue sky with several white clouds are overhead. Stamped into the metal lighting apparatus above the enamel is text that reads “FIREFLY.” On the opposite side is a scene depicting a streetcar on a hill overlooking the bay. The green trolly is shown from the rear at an angle, as if descending a steep decline. There are ae small indistinct figures aboard and white scrollwork on the rear of the streetcar. A white building sits off to its right. In the background is a body of water in bright blue, with green hills in the distance. There is a red banner across the bottom with black text that reads “SAN FRANCISCO CALIF.” Stamped into the bottom of the lighter is text that reads “FIREFLY / SUPER LIGHTER.” There is a small word stamped at the end of the bottom that reads “JAPAN.”

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1950-2004
• Manufactured by: Firefly Lighter Company
• Owned by: Etta Moten Barnett, American, 1901 - 2004
• Type: lighters (fire-making equipment)
• Medium: metal with enamel
• Dimensions: H x W x D: 1 3/4 × 2 1/8 × 3/8 in. (4.5 × 5.4 × 1 cm)
• Place made: Japan, Asia
• Place depicted: San Francisco, California, United States, North and Central America
• Place used: Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Activism
• Topic: Actors
• Topic: Broadway Theatre
• Topic: Singers (Musicians)
• Topic: Women
• Object number: A2022.13.1.69
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The underlying object's rights statement is: Unknown – Restrictions Possible Rights assessment and proper usage is the responsibility of the user.