Zippo's a true American Icon started seventy-five years ago in a small cramped machinists office in 1932. The man-- Geoge G Blaisdell. He started to build the first guarunteed windproof lighter that will light time after time or it's repaired free. in 1933 he introduced his first guarunteed lighter, that year he made 120 total-- today I've heard there are only six mint 1933's left. They have alwyas been made in Bradford Pa and in it's elustrious history has been in onlythree buildings. The first in the cramped office above a garage, the next lasted from what I've heard 1938 to1955, and then the most marvelous of architecturial structures it's present building at 33 Barbour Street where it and Case Knives are made and a archetectrial marvel by todays standard, just as theZippo itself. From day one to the present nobody has spent a penny on repairing a Zippo Lighter for manufaturing defect or breakdown-- blatent abuse withheld. Zippo got it's name from the zipper, Blaisdell liked the new invention and the name of the zipper that he named his guarunteed lighter Zippo, and through the years he has coded the Zippo on the bottom of the lighter with the name Zippo on everyone with only three changes in the style it has been written. Also on the bottom of theZippo is stamped Made in Bradford Pa USA. He didn't gee up with a dating code until 1958, but the way the patent pending and the patent numbers were placed on the bottom of theZippo identified the year. In 1958 he had patent pending and eight dots, four on the left four on the right. In 1959 there were four on the left and three on the right , then 1960 three on both sides and so on taking from the right first. Then in 1966 he ran out of dots he went to llll llll and each year reduced it one l from the right first and so on. In 1974 he again changed to //// //// till1982 when he went with \\\\ \\\\ in order until1986 when they were \\ \\ and Zippo went to Roman Numerals starting with number (2 ) II until the year 2000 where Zippo changed to the American Numerical system with the 2000/ XVI, then in 2001 it was 01 and so on on the right side of the Zippo name and the month A-L on the left for the month A= January B= Feburary til L= December and this startedG 1986 til present. The Zippo has had few changes from the original prototye in 1932. The hinge was on the outside and was three barreled. Then it was moved to the inside with four hinged barrel and then todays five hinged on the inside. Somewhere in 1966 the 300 millionth Zippo was produced-- a far cry from the first 120. Today over 400 million have been sold and 66,000 produced daily-- A true American Icon.
Collecting gees in various ways. My best friend collects them from '34 to '06 he is missing the ellusive '33 valued at mint condition of over $30,000. He found a good used one for $3,000, but has to have a hearing device for $5,000 which is sad but necessary. If I had the $3000 I would buy it for him for the friendship that he has shown me as our relationship started over an e-mail in the zippo-click classified ( available for members only), and anyone can begee a member for a nominal fee of $20 and a window of opprotunity shut off to the rest of the world is opened. Norm is always updating his collectiion for ones that have designs on them rather than Plain Zippo's, but he won't trade one until he has one that is suitable to his taste for replacement, which I have obliged him on a few. Norm has his incased in specialwoodshelves with a glass fronts. He is very knowledged in the dating of pre 1958 Zippo's as he has studied them for almost ten years. I have been a serious collector for about two years and my method of collecting is by sets-- for example in 2000/XVI Zippo produced a series called "Treasures of the Tomb"-- They are two sets one of Brass, which I own, and one made of Polished Chrome. They are a series of five Zippos incased in a crushed velvet box with Zippo at the bottom of the box. They center around King Tutengeon with a pamphlet about the history of what's on the Zippo, then there is Ramos III, King Tut's Mother, a Flying Cobra, and a Fox Man, all with crushed velvet box with Zippo on the bottom. I have many other sets a total of over 150 Zippos. I have fourteen Bald Eagle Zippo's I have many Hard Rock Zippo's and am buying more continuosly untill I have all the Hard Rock Cafe Zippo's made, I have a set of Skull Zippo's, Numereous Military Zippo's,one even in Russian a submarine,Plain Zippos just for the dates, but my main collecting is of sets. My most prized one is the fiftieth anniversary of D-Day. It is a four set Zippo Collection in a round tin. On top is an engraved image of General D. D.Eisenhower, to the left Lt General Omar Bradley, To the right General Gaulett of the French Forces, and on the Bottom General Montgomery of the British Forces. All engraved pictures on the base and their signatures on the lid. I wouldn't take $1000 for it. It is in mint condition and is the pride of mine and America's.
What is it about this 2 ounce Zippo that alures people to want them so badly that they are willing to save for months just to buy one Zippo that they want. I am disabled in a motorized wheelchair most of the time, and when I know I have a lighter geing in the mail I feel ten years old again waiting to open my christmas presents. They have begee apart of me. Is it the inginuity of such a simple device with the Ameroican Pride stamped on it? Is it control, you get a taste of it and you want to control your collection your way? Whatever it is it is as addicting as cigerettes that they were invented to light. Zippo is a household word. Bic with it's invention of the cheap disposable lighter tried to put out Zippo's Flame, but failed. A Zippo is worth what you and the seller/buyer agree upon. My Father passed away 2 1/2 years ago I got my first Zippo from him as I had bought it for him as a gift because we had been having a dispute and he still shaved with a single blade razor and used nothing but Zippo's. He had one in his pocket, one by his chair, one where we sat and played cribbage, and one by his bedside, those are the ones that I know he had I wish I had every last one of his Zippos now. I would just like to see how far back his went as he was born on Nov. 4th,1932.
Dennis J Hartsfield
Enid Oklahoma
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