The legend

The Zippo legacy begins in the depression era of the early 1930s. On a muggy summer night in Bradford in 1932, at a dinner dance at the then called Bradford country club*, tiring of the party Mr Blaisdell stepped out on to a balconey for a smoke. He watched with curiosity his smartly dressed friend, Dick Dresser using a cumbersome brass Austrian made lighter. He asked him why he was using a lighter that did not suit his attire, "Well, George, it works!" came the defensive retort.

Quite taken with his friends passion and looking for a business ventrure Mr Blaisdell obtained a number of units to resell from the Austrian lighter manufacturer for just 12 cents a unit**. To improve its appearance, Mr Blaisdell chrome plated the lid of the lighter and put them up for sale for one dollar.

 They did not sell at all well, the lighter worked well in the wind thanks to the design of the chimney, but its appearance was utilitarian and its use required two hands. He realised quickly there were defects in the lighters design, replacing the flint was difficult to say the least and changing the wick required the patience of a saint. The thin case dented easily and being small it could not retain much fuel. The flint wheel is thin and weak causing it not to light on occassion.

Mr Blaisdell was determined to develop a new lighter that would not fail to light and would be easy to use. At this time of great depression he wanted a product that was outstanding but promised a low total cost of ownership. Admiring the ingenuity of a recent invention and liking the word zipper Mr Blaisdell called his new founded company Zippo considering it to sound more modern. His future sighted marketing genius gave birth to the lifetime guarantee and the accompanying slogan "It works... or we fix it free".

*In 1937, Bradford Country Club and the North Penn Club merged to form Pennhills country club.

I am very proud to have one of these, this lighter is the original inspiration behind the Zippo. It was manufactered by Gebruder Simon (Simon Brothers) of Vienna. They were a contract manufacturer and you can find them branded with other company names, Kingsway, (Max E. Bernhardt) and probably others. This one is unbranded and carrys a UK patent covering the use of flint as a n ignition system. Most US imports are branded <MEB> as Max E. Bernhardt, based in New York were importing them. I figure this would have been the source of Mr Blaisdell's friend's lighter. Due to the numerous variations in base stamps there is confusion surrounding the design/Manufacturer. The models imported by Zippo were not branded and most likely carried simply PAT 1022140 and MADE IN AUSTRIA. I believe they will have a chromed lid only, chromed by Zippo to eradicate the confusion of which end to pull open :-) So if you see an unbranded one with a chromed lid and brass body it could of come out of Zippo! **I am yet to verify the 12 cents unit cost but if true the $50 outlay makes 400 units excluding $2 postage. Happy hunting...