Zipping a Little History with Zippo

A Zippo lighter is a reusable metal lighter manufactured by American Manufacturing Company Zippo. Zippo was founded by George G. Blaisdell in 1932, producing the first Zippo lighter in 1933. The name came about because George liked the sound of the word “zipper” and thought “zippo” sounded more modern. Thousands of different styles and designs have been made with over 500,000,000 produced over the past eighty decades since the company began, and from 1949 to 2002, Zippo lighters were also produced in Niagara Falls in Ontario, Canada. The first Zippo lighters sold for $1.95 each and were backed by Mr Blaisdell’s unconditional lifetime guarantee: “It works or we fix it free”. The lighters quickly became popular with the US Military especially during World War II, and it became popular amongst the American Soldiers of the Vietnam War to get their Zippos engraved with personal mottos. A museum called “Zippo/Case visitors centre” is located in Bradford, Pennsylvania at 1932 Zippo Drive. The museum contains rare and custom-made lighters, and also sells the entire Zippo line.

(Credit to http://designobserver.com/article.php?id=34848)

Zippo lighters gained popularity as windproof lights and being able to stay lit during harsh weather conditions due to the design of the windscreen. They are typically made of brass and are rectangular with a hinged top. The design of the Zippo lighter remains the same to this day, with minor improvements. Here we’ve put together a few of our favourite designs from our website:

Orange Matte Eagle Emblem Spectrum Shamrock

Solid Brass England Flag Jack Daniels Bull Dog Old No.7 Zippo lighters are stronger and more resistant to damage compared to the disposable ones. They are much more cost-effective in the long run as all you need to do when the fuel runs out is buy lighter fuel, where with disposable lighters; you need have to keep buying new ones. You can also purchase lighter fluid here. As well as having Zippo lighters and fluids, we also have a brilliant range of Zippo accessories – hand warmers for the cold winter months, Zippo wicks, flints and pouches.