It all began with George Blaisdell in 1932. He was an entrepreneur from Bradford, Pennsylvania with the desire to invent the perfect mechanical pocket lighter. Little did he know that nearly a century later, his invention would be the obsession of collectors around the globe.
Zippo lighter collecting has been going on for years, but really took off in the mid-1990's. It remains popular today in the United States, as well as all over the world. Along with collecting came trade shows, collector clubs, reference books, and other tools of the trade.
With the Internet taking off, around the same time as Zippo collecting, the market experienced a "yo-yo" effect. It made some lighters common that were once rare, but at the same time, lots of lighters came out of the woodwork. Lighters still can be found today at garage sales, flea markets, antique malls, and of course on online auctions sites.
The prices for Zippo's can range from $10 to $10,000. The most sought after are the early models with the metallique advertising designs. Town & Country and leather wrap models are quite desirable as well. Mint condition and/or in the original boxes increases value greatly.
As of today there have been over 400 million Zippo lighters produced. Of course, one of the reasons for Zippo's success is their Lifetime Guarantee: "If anything ever goes wrong with a Zippo lighter, we fix it free."
Zippo Timeline
1935 - Metallique advertising begins with Kendall Oil's order of 500 lighters
1938 - Zippo begins its rounded corner model
1939 - Production begins of the 1st model Barcroft table lighter
1942 - Zippo begins production of the war time black crackle finish lighters
1949 - Town & Country series is introduced
1950 - Introduction of full cover leather models
1953 - Patent number is changed from 203 to 2517
1956 - Zippo starts production of the slim model lighter
1962 - The Zippo "Rule" tape measure is produced
1965 - Zippo golf balls are produced
1966 - Belt Buckle is introduced to the product line
1973 - The Zippo Key Holder is made
1993 - Zippo buys Case Cutlery
Andrew Turner has been collecting militaria for many years, especially US Army WWII memorabilia. In addition to writing for a Kansas City area newspaper, Turner works for Manion's International Auction House, a 30 plus year old company specializing in military collectibles. Manion's traditional auction (http://www.manions.com) operates on a consignment basis with the seller sending items to their facility where Manion's staff handles all aspects of the sale, from photography to shipping. Manion's auction services also include a List it Yourself auction option (http://auctions.manions.com), which was started at the request of customers wanting to access Manion's militaria-focused customer base, but with the ability to list items on their own. Andrew Turner can be reached by email at manions_auction@yahoo.com.
