LATEST FRENCH NOVELTY - CHURCHILL CIGAR LIGHTER: An original November 1945 press photograph of a novelty cigar lighter with the visage of Winston S. Churchill

London: Copyright Keystone Press Agency Ltd., 14 November 1945. Photograph. This original November 1945 press photograph features a humorous image of a man lighting his cigar with a French novelty lighter modeled after the visage of Churchill and his iconic cigar. The photograph was received on 13 November 1945 for publication in the following evening’s papers. It measures 8.25 x 6 inches (20.96 x 15.24 cm). The glossy photo paper shows some mild curling, trivial edge wear, and light surface wear visible only under raking light. Some crinkling appears on the left border and extends about an inch into the photograph.

The verso features an original typed caption stipulating "FOR PUBLICATION IN THE EVENING PAPERS OF WEDNESDAY Nov. 14th 1945" and titled "LATEST FRENCH NOVELTY - CHURCHILL CIGAR LIGHTER". The caption reads "KEYSTONE PHOTO SHOWS: France hasn't forgotten Mr. Churchill. From NR (sic) an invention by GROUPCAT, people now light their cigars from a table lighter modeled in the shape of Mr. Churchill smoking his famous cigar." The caption provides an identification number and specifies a "REPRODUCTION FEE" for "London Evenings & Dailies". Below the caption and directly on the verso is a "RECEIVED" stamp dated "13 NOV 1945", a "REPRODUCTION FEE" stamp, and the stamp of "KEYSTONE Press Agency Ltd." of London.

There’s no shortage of odd Churchill tchotchkes, ranging from tea cozies to bad porcelain figurines, but the table lighter might be a contender for the strangest one we’ve seen. The slip attached to the verso reads, “FRANCE HASN’T FORGOTTEN | MR. CHURCHILL. FROM AN INVENTION BY | GROUPCAT, PEOPLE NOW LIGHT THEIR OWN CIGARS FROM | A TABLE LIGHTER MODELED IN THE SHAPE OF MR. CHURCHILL SMOKING HIS FAMOUS CIGAR.”

Of course, the French could and should not have forgotten Churchill. A lifelong Francophile, during Churchill’s Second World War premiership he harbored both the unsubstantiated fantasy of French sovereignty and the petulant hubris of the galling Charles de Gaulle. On 25 August, 1944, at the Hotel de Ville in Paris, de Gaulle gave a speech proclaiming a “Paris liberated! Liberated by itself, liberated by its people with the help of the French armies, with the support and the help of all France…” An amusing puff indeed.