Museum-WWI Trench Lighter The Red Devils - Pocket lighter - Brass

MUSEUM ITEM / ABSOLUTE RARITY: "Trench Art" Lighter World War I (HWK 1915) - French 152nd Infantry Regiment ("The Red Devils")

For sale is an exceptional collector's item, of extreme historical and documentary rarity: an artisanal trench art lighter, handmade on the front in 1915, during one of the bloodiest battles of World War I.

HISTORICAL AND SYMBOLISTIC CONTEXT:

The object is a true time capsule that attests to the complete military identity of its creator, a soldier of the legendary 152e Régiment d'Infanterie (French Army). In the spring of 1915, during the fierce fighting on the Hartmannswillerkopf (HWK) mountain in the Vosges Mountains, this regiment was nicknamed "The Red Devils" (Les Diables Rouges) by the German enemies because of their fanatical courage.
• Side A: Dominated by a raised French Imperial Eagle (the Napoleonic symbol of military glory), applied to a distinctive metal disc. At the bottom is hand-engraved the official battlefield acronym and the year: "HWK 1915".
• Side B: Features a macro-detailed hand engraving, of remarkable artistic execution, depicting a satirical caricature of a devil with horns and a trident (a direct allusion to the nickname received at the front). The design is surrounded at the top by the regiment's official historical motto: "NE PAS SUBIR" (Do not endure / Do not submit), and at the bottom by the unit's name: "152e RÉGIMENT D'INFANTERIE" (with the last letter "E" organically superimposed, due to lack of space, over the tip of the trident).

TECHNICAL DETAILS AND CONSTRUCTION:

• Materials: Solid brass, steel (wheel) and elements in copper/red tombac.
• Structure: Extremely robust "sandwich" type construction. The central body is ingeniously made by manually modifying a massive military nut with hexagonal facets, onto which the decorative discs were subsequently applied and tinned on both sides.
• Mechanism: Classic petrol/oil system with toothed wheel and amnar. The upper threaded brass plug provides access to the tank for reloading.

CONDITION:

• IMPECCABLE / PERFECTLY FUNCTIONAL: Unlike most trench pieces that have jammed mechanisms or broken tanks, this lighter is fully functional, with a perfect body seal. The toothed wheel has intact teeth, provides a strong spark and instantly ignites the wick, producing a clean and stable flame.
• Original Patina: The piece presents an absolutely gorgeous organic micro-patina in the grooves of the engravings, without any modern intervention of chemical cleaning or aggressive polishing that would affect its historical value