PLEASE NOTE: We will be BACK IN THE OFFICE on TUESDAY 01/28 catching up from Travel and Shipping out the Mountain of Orders we received!!
We will be Listing, Packing, & SHIPPING again as of TUESDAY 01/28!!
Update 01/26/25: WE ARE still EXPERIENCING SOME TECHNICAL ISSUES WITH non-PayPal CREDIT CARD PURCHASES!!
If you would like to PAY for an Artifact with a CREDIT CARD, please email and I will get an invoice emailed to you ASAP!
We are HAPPY TO ACCEPT YOUR ORDERS during this time, and we will promptly SHIP MOST orders within ONE Business Day of Receipt of Payment!
And, as always, if you would like to fund your $100.00+ order through a Bank that offers ZELLE, ASK ABOUT our ZELLE DISCOUNT!!
That DISCOUNT also applies to PayPal GIFT (Fee-Free), Check, and Money Order payments!!
Thank you for visiting. We hope you will find some vintage artifacts here on our site to add to your collection.
We look forward to serving your collecting needs, Ron & Kanae
ARTIFACT:
This is a very rare 1950s CAT (Civil Air Transport) lighter presented by Pilot Merrill Hulse. CAT was a Chinese airline established in 1946 by famed General and leader of the American Volunteer Group, Clare Chennault, along with Whiting Willauer. The company's airplanes, many of them piloted by former Flying Tigers, first flew humanitarian airlifts and then became integral in Chiang Kai-Shek's efforts against the Communists in China, eventually evacuating Chinese citizens to Taiwan after the fall of his government. In 1950 the CIA acquired CAT and used the airline for secret missions to China even though on the surface it appeared to be solely a civilian airline. CAT became Air America in 1959. A picture of Mr. Hulse can be seen on the University of Texas Dallas' web site here: http://libtreasures.utdallas.edu/xmlui/handle/10735.1/1095. The lighter was made in Japan by Prince. On the front there is a partial map of eastern Asia and on the back are the words I KNOW MERRILL HULSE.
VINTAGE:
Circa 1950s.
SIZE:
Approximately 1-3/8" in height and 1-7/8" in width and 7/16" in thickness
MATERIALS / CONSTRUCTION:
Chrome-plated case and insert.
ATTACHMENT:
Screws.
MARKINGS:
KBL 500 PRINCE PAT. No. 412770 PAT No. 24754.
ITEM NOTES:
This is from a lighter collection which we will be listing more of over the next few months. MBJL94 LCDEX6/13 SCDEX10/16
CONDITION:
8- (Very Fine-Excellent): The lighter is in great condition with some light abrasions only.
GUARANTEE: As with all my artifacts, this piece is guaranteed to be original, as described.
