Zippo History

In 1932 George G. Blaisdell founded the 'Zippo Manufacturing Company "(located in Bradford, Pa.), and manufactured the first Zippo lighter in early 1933, inspired by an Austrian cigarette lighter of similar design. Got its name because Blaisdell liked the sound of the word 'zipper' (zip), according to Zippo's website, and associated the sound that produced the lighter when it is closed. On March 3, 1936, the product was patented, no. 2032695.

Since 1933, more than 400 million Zippo lighters have been produced and are currently estimated to occur about 12 million a year. After World War II lighters were part of advertising campaigns by companies large and small through the 60's. Many early Zippo advertising campaigns are works of art painted by hand and as technology has evolved, so has the design and finish of the Zippo lighters. The basic mechanism of the lighter has remained unchanged.

Zippo lighters have repeatedly appeared in the movie business, being used regularly by different characters in films such as Die Hard, Reservoir Dogs, X-Men 2, Dogma, Gran Torino, Lost etc. In fact, in all the films of director Quentin Tarantino appears a Zippo.
Zippo has recently expanded its portfolio of products including a variety of special-purpose lighters, known as 'Zippo MPL', which are loaded with butane.

Zippo she released in 2008-2009 a hot hand with exceptional quality, it uses standard lighter fuel and fits in the palm of the hand, as long as 24 hours depending on the página.Zippo Hand Warmer

There is a museum called 'Zippo / Case Collector's Club' (Club covers Zippo collectors) located in Bradford Zippo Avenue. The building of 3 million square feet contains a variety of rare and typical Zippo lighters and is the only place that sells the complete line of products has taken so far the company. It also contains a huge collection of covers of knives.

Zippo has created a model car "Zippo Car" to promote their lighters, as well as watches and other accessories. Recently he has created a variety of special-purpose lighters, known as 'Zippo MPL', which are loaded with butane, and have a characteristic blue flame.