Matte Zippo

All About Zippo Lighters

History of Zippo

Posted on | June 22, 2010 | No Comments

George G. Blaisdell founded Zippo Manufacturing Company in 1932, and produced the first Zippo lighter in primeval 1933, being inspired by an Austrian cigarette lighter of similar design. It got its study because Blaisdell liked the sound of the word “zipper” and “zippo” sounded more modern. On March 3, 1936, patent was allowed for the Zippo lighter.

Zippo lighters became favourite in the United Says military, especially during World War II — when, as the company’s website says, Zippo “ceased production of lighters for consumer markets and dedicated all manufacturing to the U.S. military.” The Zippo at that time was prefabricated of brass, but as this commodity was unobtainable due to the war, Zippo used steel during the war years. While the Zippo Manufacturing Company never had an official contract with the military, soldiers and armed forces organisation insisted that Base exchange (BX) stores carry this sought-after lighter. While it had previously been common to have Zippos with authorized badges, unit crests and division insignia, it became favourite among the American soldiers of the Vietnam War, to get their Zippos engraved with individualized mottos. These lighters are now sought after collectors items and favourite souvenirs for visitors to Vietnam.

fter World War II, the Zippo lighter became increasingly used in advertising by companies massive and small through the 1960s. Many of the primeval advertising Zippo lighters are works of art painted by hand, and as technology has evolved, so has the design and finish of the Zippo lighter. The basic mechanism of the Zippo lighter has remained unchanged.

In 2002 Zippo expanded its product line to include a variety of utility-style multi-purpose lighters, known as the Zippo MPL. This was followed in 2005 with the Outdoor Utility Lighter, known as the OUL. These lighters are fuelled with butane. In August 2007 Zippo released a new butane lighter called the Zippo BLU.

museum called Zippo/Case visitors center is located in Bradford, PA at 1932 Zippo Drive. This 15,000 square foot (1398 m²) building contains rare and custom prefabricated Zippo lighters, and also sells the entire Zippo line. The museum was featured on the NPR program Weekend Edition Sunday on Jan 25, 2009. The museum also contains an enormous collection of Case knives. Since the Zippo company’s 60th anniversary in 1992, annual editions have been produced for worldwide Zippo collectors.

From 1949 to 2002 Zippos were also produced in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada. Since 1933, over 400,000,000 Zippo lighters have been produced.

In 2009, Zippo announced plans to purchase Ronson, a long-time competitor in the lighter market. On February 3, 2010, the deal was finalized.

Source : Wikipedia

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