As already mentioned: ZippO is a young rapper, Ilya Lapidus. Born on March 7, 1998 in Ukraine, the city of Nikolaev. The Ukrainian rapper performs his lyrics in Russian, however, like most Ukrainian performers. Ilya began composing texts early, but most already managed to appreciate his talent. You could even say that he liked writing rap as a child.

Ilya has a special approach to music. He puts his own special meaning into his tracks. He stands out among other rappers in his style, manner and presentation of his tracks. His subtlety to feelings shows that a person is capable of loving sincerely. Unfortunately, the rapper does not share with the public about his family.

The track "Winter" is Zippo's first song, with a deep meaning about unrequited love.

When Ilya’s work began to be discussed, assessed and various comments were given, the aspiring rapper was not bothered by it. He was studying at school at that time and he even liked to see that people listened to his songs. At the school competition "Spring Day" Ilya performed the song "River". The students liked it and the teachers praised it for its beautiful performance. Ilya's performance became a victory for his class in this competition.

Lifestyle Zippo

As Ilya himself says, his pseudonym Zippo is something incendiary, so that when he goes on stage he will ignite fans and make a vivid impression.

Creation

What can you say about his work? Well, firstly, this is rap, which is filled with meaning and a special genre that is not typical for other rappers.

Ilya’s creative activity began in his hometown of Nikolaev. At the age of 10 he wrote a song and when he turned 11, Ilya recorded it with Sham in the studio. Ilya posted it on VK. Zippo quickly became popular on social networks. The rapper posted all his subsequent tracks on social networks. This led to success. About 15 million listeners added Zippo tracks.

For the first time we could see ZippO on stage relatively recently: October 4, 2014 at the Studio club. A month later (November 6, 2014), Ilya performed in Chelyabensk (Mega Chel club), where he provided us with an album called “Wick”. After which Zippo does not stop and continues to travel around cities and perform at concerts.

After Internet users were able to listen to his first track, “You Smoke Often,” his popularity increased greatly. It’s not hard to see how the frequency of requests for “rapper ZippO” increases just during the period when the song “You Smoke Often” is released.

Zippo calls his style rap - hip-hop. Zippo promotes himself and his creativity with the help of social networks. Periscope is a very cool thing for Ilya. He's delighted with it. He says it’s cool to show yourself and what you do on a live broadcast.

Zippo has its own public pages. The main public has about 508 thousand subscribers. He believes that this is not a small number of subscribers and is enough to release the song and it will sell out.

The stimulus for creativity was a man named Sasha Kalinin. He wrote a lot of cool songs. Zippo stayed with him in Kharkov and had a very cool time in terms of music. Zippo will never forget this meeting. This is a very big experience that has been ingrained in the rapper.

For ZippO, going away to travel or learn something new is very cool, because some people are inspired by material things and others by spiritual things.

The rapper does not write songs right away and not as easily as it seems. This takes time and, so to speak, a “muse” that comes spontaneously. Deep songs and their meaning can be explained by the rapper’s clear position in life.

Overall, given the “explosion in popularity,” we can say that ZippO has found his fans who appreciate his work. We wish him good luck and look forward to new tracks from him.

History of the legendary Zippo lighters began back in 1932 during the “Great Depression” in distant (from us) America in the state of Pennsylvania in the oil town of Bradford in an ordinary village club a certain George Blaisdell came to the dance. He was a co-owner of a small company producing simple oil production equipment.

From his youth he dealt with metal and mechanisms and had a considerable desire for invention. Dancing and empty talk about politics soon tired of George, and he went out to smoke on the veranda of the club, where he found his friend Dick Dresser, puffing and trying to remove the cap from his old and dilapidated Austrian lighter. Dick was a fairly wealthy man, and George allowed himself the remark: “Why don’t you buy a more presentable lighter?” Dick finally pulled off the lid and clicked the wheel. Despite quite strong wind, lit up, and Dick lit his cigarette. “Because this one works!” - Dick muttered in response to George's question. At that moment, a thought struck George: “Lighter! This is what a person constantly needs, regardless of his financial situation! Since then, George's head has been filled with the idea of ​​​​producing reliable lighters that are accessible to everyone.

He began by obtaining an exclusive license to import Austrian lighters into the United States and purchasing a small batch for sale. Having failed to sell any of them, he discovered some defects in them and decided to create his own everlasting lighter. Having rented a small room in the building of metal repair shops, he filled it with used machines, hired three mechanics, and work began to boil.

First of all, Blaisdell reduced the size of the lighter so that it fits in the palm of his hand. Then, remembering the suffering of Dick's friend, he connected the lid to the body with a loop. Now you could open and light the lighter with one hand. He left the windscreen around the wick unchanged, even retaining the same number of holes as in the Austrian ancestor. I slightly improved the wheel and flint. Gasoline was poured directly into the body, which changed from simple brass to chrome plated.

So, the new product was ready. It received the name " Zippo". The origin of the name is also very simple. Around the same time, a solid sliding metal fastener was invented in the USA, which we called “zipper”, and in our homeland - “ Zipper". Blaisdell liked the sound of the word “zipper”, and he decided to name his work in consonance with it.

The price of the new “windproof” lighter was $1.95. In the first month, 82 units were sold. Things went well. Reliability, convenience and affordable price of Zippo quickly gained it popularity, but still the main advantage of Zippo was the company's trade policy, expressed in an almost indefinite guarantee of its products. Engineer Blaisdell loved his creation so much that he vowed that Zippo's appearance would not be replaced as long as he lived.

But even after his death, the lighter practically retained its appearance. True, some models have become more elegant, richer and more colorful. But the highest reliability achieved at the beginning has remained unchanged. No wonder at the Zippo Museum Bradford houses lighters from all eras, dating back to 1932. And everything works!

Continuing the theme of the history of world-famous lighters, one cannot miss the story about the advertising talent of their creator - “Mr. Zippo”, and this is exactly what engineer Blaisdell began to call from the moment the first batch of lighters was released.

One of Blaisdell's first acts in promoting his product was to mail out a flyer to shops, bars and clubs, in which Zippo was presented as the most reliable lighter that works in all weather conditions. In it, Zippo buyers were asked to subject it to the so-called “fentest”. It consisted in the fact that Zippo ignited at a distance of no more than a meter from the switched on electric fan (hair dryer). If during the week it did not work at least once, the buyer was free to return it to the seller and get his money back. Let's remember that the price of Zippo at that time was only $1.95. It was proposed to perform the same actions with other lighters and verify the advantage of Zippo.

The same idea was continued in 1937 in Zippo's first big advertisement in the national men's magazine Esquire. Blaisdell borrowed money and bought an entire page of the magazine for $3,000, on which he placed text advertising the lighter's windproof properties (windproof lighter), its lifetime guarantee (lifetime guarantee) and model variations (by that time several engraved Zippo models had appeared). The page featured a drawing of a cute girl lighting a Zippo in the wind. The caption under the picture read: “She passed the Phen test.” This announcement is considered historical, since after its publication the term “windproof” was assigned to Zippo, and thanks to the animation of the lighter, many began to consider it their “good friend.” However, before this event, the creator of Zippo Blaisdell did not have the funds for expensive advertising, and he came up with the following move...

Remembering a school friend who owned a coach garage in Bradford, Blaisdell asked him to distribute his lighters to bus drivers so that they could demonstrate their windproof qualities to passengers. In payment for this kind of advertising, drivers received lighters for personal use free of charge. It was an ingenious, no-cost advertisement that extended Zippo's popularity beyond Bradford for the first time.

Mister Zippo worked a lot, trying to achieve “personalization” of his brainchild. A year after the start of production of lighters, he began to decorate them with engravings and enamel drawings. At first these were simple Zippo models with the image of a drunkard, a dog's head or a horse. Blaisdell then began engraving personal monograms and company logos. The color and shape of the monograms varied constantly, but the additional payment for this type of work remained unchanged: only $1.00. The advertising slogans for these products were chosen by Blaisdell, as always, extremely successfully: “A gift that is always with you” or “A gift that is remembered as many times as you light up your Zippo.”

The defining moment in Zippo personalization came in 1936, when the oil company Kendall Oil, which supplied Blaisdell with kerosene for refilling lighters, ordered 500 Zippos with its logo. Since then and to this day, Zippo has successfully developed the prestigious direction of producing lighters as objects of art. And the very next year, 1937, the financial success of Zippo, which was the result of Blaisdell’s talented advertising campaign, allowed him to begin production of the so-called “sports series.” The bodies of the lighters depicted a hunter, a fisherman, a golfer, a sports yacht, a skier, a baseball player, that is, subjects related to outdoor sports. This achieved a link between Zippo’s “windproofness” and wildlife.

And finally, in the pre-war years Mister Zippo carried out another successful advertising campaign, which allowed him to sell more than 300 thousand lighters. In those days, in bars and cafes one was distributed (albeit illegally) simple game called "punchboard". A board with one or two thousand holes covered with paper was hung on the wall. All holes under the paper were numbered in random order. The winning numbers were written at the top of the board. For just 2 cents, any visitor could poke a pencil into one of the holes and, if the number in the open hole matched the number at the top of the board, the lucky person received a prize - a Zippo lighter. Thanks to the “punchboard,” Zippo’s popularity became all-American. And then there was the Second World War. And the popularity of Zippo crossed the borders of the United States.

During World War II, many American products became world famous. Among them are Gillette razors, Hamilton watches, Jeep cars, Hershey's chocolate and, of course, Zippo lighters.

Zippo MFG Company, was not an official supplier of goods to the army, but the popularity of its lighters was so great that from the first days of the war Blaisdell supplied hundreds of Zippos to army and navy supply points. Soldiers and sailors were attracted to Zippo by its reliability, good protection from wind and moisture, and low cost.

Zippo from the Second World War differed from its predecessors in appearance, since, due to difficulties with raw materials, their cases were made of porous steel instead of nickel-plated brass. Their surface was blackened and rough. They looked a little clumsy, but they held better in the palm and did not shine, which ensured blackout. The case may have rusted, but the mechanism still worked flawlessly. However, Blaisdell, with his characteristic pedantry, attached a leaflet to each lighter, where he apologized for the changes in its appearance caused by emergency circumstances.

On the fronts of the War, Zippo acquired its new functions. It was used not only to light a cigarette, but also to light fires, to give various signals, to warm cold hands, even to warm soup in helmets.

There are cases when Zippo saved the lives of its owners and their comrades. One day, a group of sailors from a sunken ship drifted on a small raft all day, and when night fell, one of the sailors lit his lighter as a signal for help. Its light was seen from a passing boat, and the sailors were saved. Another incident occurred with the crew of a dive bomber as they returned to base after completing a combat mission. The onboard lighting suddenly failed and, since it was already night, the navigator could not correctly determine the direction of flight using the darkened instruments. The light of a Zippo lighter helped the crew land safely at their base. There were many cases among infantrymen when a Zippo, placed in the breast pocket of a jacket, took an enemy bullet and saved the owner’s life. Stories associated with Zippo were passed from mouth to mouth and, along with its remarkable qualities, strengthened its fame at the front and in the rear. They began to call her “a soldier’s best friend.” Names, initials, mottos began to be scratched onto the bodies of lighters, they were decorated with emblems, coins and even models. Zippo's popularity among the military led to Blaisdell's company working exclusively for the Army in 1942. Zippo was practically impossible to buy in the US in a regular store or bar. There was also a common saying among the population at that time: “We here at home can only dream of lighting our Zippo in the wind with one thumb.” But the war ended and, along with the return to peaceful life, Zippo has also returned to its fans.

For the military, Zippo has long played a special role as practically the only source of fire and heat in the harshest conditions of military service. It was a mandatory attribute of long-awaited “smoke breaks” and performed a number of additional functions as a pocket mirror, signal light, mini burner, etc. Soldiers in the American army were equipped almost entirely at the expense of the state, for which they received the nickname GI (Government Issue). Zippo, despite its obvious usefulness, was not included in the list of government items and was bought by soldiers in army shops with their own money. This made it stand out from other equipment and gave rise to a special attitude towards it on the part of the soldiers.

During the Vietnam War lettering and decorations on Zippo, have become a general phenomenon. The soldiers, being in this hellish massacre under the constant threat of death, tried to capture the state of their souls and the thoughts haunting them on simple lighters. Therefore, Zippos from the Vietnam era are today an interesting collectible item. On them you can find inscriptions clumsily scribbled with a simple soldier’s knife, cursing war and the hard fate of soldiers. There are drawings made by skilled South Vietnamese engravers, names and dates of the most brutal battles, maps of Vietnam, and personal messages. Many are decorated with emblems of military units and various figures.

A special place in Vietnam-era Zippos is occupied by the lighters of US Navy sailors who participated in river battles in the Mekong Delta. Pictured on them warships and emblems of naval units are distinguished by their special quality and art of engraving. In general, the connection between the American Army and Zippo MFG.Co had already turned into a long-standing and close cooperation by the time of the Vietnam War. Back in the 40s, the company began producing lighters with emblems of military branches and military scenes. By the 60s, almost every military unit placed orders for Zippo with the image of their identification marks, and the number of Zippo with military logos reached several thousand. Often the emblems themselves were developed by the design department of Zippo MFG.Co.

Zippo gained particular popularity in the navy. Each warship considered it a duty to have its own supply of lighters with its logo or image of the ship itself, which were given to each crew member as a souvenir upon completion of their service. In the property of soldiers, sailors and pilots, Zippo took a place along with such obligatory items as a knife, spoon, belt, helmet, and raincoat. Moreover, in addition to its practical functions, it served as a reliable friend and talisman. And Zippo, made to special order with the symbols of regiments, divisions, batteries, squadrons, ships, squadrons, became the distinctive sign of these units, strengthening the spirit of unity and camaraderie among veterans and recruits.

The uniqueness of the images on lighters, their difficult fate and important role in the harsh service of the military makes military Zippo especially memorable items for their owners and desirable for collectors.

Continuing the mass production of traditional pocket lighters, the company began to expand its product range. In the early 50s, several series of elegant table lighters were released, the mechanical part of which remained unchanged, maintaining its signature qualities: reliability, windproofness and ease of handling. Special sophistication and grace were added to the appearance.

Models were released for women Lady Bradford And Corinthian. For men, Bancroft and Moderne were more suitable. Coming soon Zippo MFG product range. It began to be replenished with items not related to lighters. Now the Zippo agent's set included keychains, penknives, golf balls, pens, various buckles and clippers. At the same time, the company actively continued to produce advertising Zippos.

Since 1956, the method of chemical etching of metal began to be used to engrave the Zippo case. This made it possible to complicate the drawing, make it multi-colored and more detailed. Promotional Zippos have become like an artist's canvas. Some of them were real works of art. Many companies quickly realized that Zippo was an ideal permanent advertisement in every consumer's pocket. For the Zippo MFG Company itself, advertising products not only brought significant income, but also helped to consolidate the image of Zippo in the minds of the consumer as an integral part of American reality. That is why a special place in the company’s advertising policy was given to cooperation with companies that represented such “American realities” as Coca-Cola, PANAM, Lockhead and Boeing aircraft, and Gillette razors.

The most successful work was with tobacco corporations. In the late 50s, Philip Morris used Zippo along with the ever-present cowboys and horses in its massive advertising campaign. Since then, Zippo and Marlboro have been inseparable. Soon, advertising Zippos accounted for more than 40% of the company's total revenue. And along with the expansion of their production, everything higher value purchased colorful Zippos as collectibles.

This Zippo family, which began in the post-war years with the so-called sports series, over time became a special group of Zippo products and currently generates the most stable income for the company. Thanks to the skill and endless imagination of Zippo designers, about 70-80% of all lighters are bought as gifts. Moreover, they are not necessarily given to people who smoke. For many, Zippo is a piece of art and a collectible. And what kind of stories you won’t see on collectible Zippos! Just look at the NASA series dedicated to space flights. Or a military series in which you can find the emblem of almost every unit of the US Army.

And in various sports series there are not only emblems and inscriptions, but also real photographic portraits of famous athletes. Zippo with inlay, Zippo camouflage, Zippo mirror, Zippo copper, brass, silver, gold plated, etc.

At the birthplace of Zippo in Bradford (Pennsylvania), there is an extensive Zippo Museum, where all kinds of lighters from different times are collected. There are rooms of experimental models, Zippo prototypes, broken and refurbished Zippos, design masterpieces and legendary Zippos, collectible Zippos and modern designs.

Some museum exhibits are of particular interest. For example, in one of the rooms, next to a photograph of a huge northern pike caught in Oneida Lake near Cleveland, there is an old lighter that was removed by fishermen from the belly of this fish. The surprising thing is not that Zippo somehow got into the pike's mouth, but that it worked when it was taken out of there, and is still working.

In the hall of the legendary Zippo there is a lighter that belonged to the permanent coach of the DC American football team of the 30s, Lou Little. During the States Cup final in 1934 there was heavy rain. Streams of water washed out the court, and players had difficulty getting from one end of the field to the other. But the match continued. Lou smoked nervously and heavily, lighting cigarettes on his Zippo, which never failed, despite the fact that Lou himself was wet to the bone.

There is also the favorite lighter of the famous war photographer Joseph John Rosenthal with his JJR monogram. This Zippo is remarkable because it recalls the legendary photograph taken by Rosenthal on February 19, 1945, when, after bloody fighting, the US Marines occupied Japanese island Iwo Jima and planted the American flag on the top of Suribachi, strewn with soldiers' bones. The photograph was so successful that it was published overnight in all leading American magazines and newspapers and became a kind of harbinger of the end of the war at a time when the American Army was experiencing difficulties on the Pacific front and was suffering heavy losses.

In the Hall of Curiosities there is a Zippo belonging to Sergeant Trooper Thorne. During one of the jumps, as Sergeant Thorne's parachute opened, he was violently jerked, and his Zippo flew out of his chest pocket and flew to the ground from a height of 1,100 feet (about 400 m). When Thorne landed, his comrade handed him a lighter found in a nearby field. The lid opened with difficulty, but the lighter lit.

The funny stories with Zippo are continued by the lighter of mechanic Russell Clooney. While repairing a packaging machine, his trouser leg got caught in a gear and he began to be pulled into the machine. Russell desperately tried to free himself, but the mechanism was stronger, and he was inexorably pulled into the machine. Suddenly the mechanism stopped. Russell began to free his trouser leg and found a lighter in his trouser pocket, which, stuck in the gears, stopped the car. Shocked, Russell pulled his Zippo out of its gears and lit it. It worked, although it was a little dented.

The Zippo Hall of Fame displays lighters that display the entire history of America in their engravings and enamels no worse than art gallery or photo exhibition. All the wars and military conflicts that have shaken the United States since the 30s of the century are reflected in the simple cases of small but necessary Zippo. All major sporting events and world achievements of American athletes were celebrated with the release of special souvenir Zippos. The social life of the country and the achievements of science were also not forgotten by Zippo MFG Co. There is not a single space flight that has escaped the company's attention.

In the Zippo Hall of Masterpieces, multicolor enamels and skillful engravings simply amaze with the imagination of the artists and the skill of the engravers. At the same time, the hall of modern products surprises with the variety of products from Zippo MFG Co. Here, in addition to lighters and accessories for them, you can see keychains, penknives, boxes, watches, pens, belts, gloves, hats, caps, jeans...

It would be useful to conclude our tour of the Zippo Museum with the words that Zippo has been with America for almost 60 years since its birth and with it experienced the Great Depression, a period of prosperity, wars, and scientific discoveries, and was influenced by fashion, changes in the cultural life of the country and other phenomena that come and go, but it itself has remained practically unchanged, as reliable and durable as at birth. It would be nice if all the achievements of our era had these qualities!

At the end of this article I would like to offer you a set of clip art on the topic of Zippo lighters:

1. Oddly enough, all Zippo lighters are made in one place - at a plant in Bradford, Pennsylvania, by 620 employees of the Zippo Manufacturing Company. In the same place where the first Zippo was released 80 years ago.

2. Zippo Manufacturing Company was and remains a private, moreover, family business. Its sole owner today is George Duke, grandson of Zippo founder George Blaisdell. Offers from various corporations to buy out the business in full or in part come to him about once a week, but are never considered.

3. All Zippo products have a lifetime warranty. Whatever happens to your lighter, you can send it (at your own expense) to Bradford and get it back (free) repaired or new. The warranty does not apply to exterior finishes only.

4. Despite the global decline in the number of smokers, sales of lighters are not falling even in the United States. Many people buy lighters just to have their Zippo.

5. The Zippo factory produces 60,000 lighters per day.

6. The first lighter was released by George Blaisdell in 1932. He borrowed the idea of ​​a windproof gasoline lighter from an Austrian company, adding only a hinged lid instead of a removable one.

7. All American warships have their own proprietary series of Zippo lighters, developed by the factory individually for each ship.

8. The rhythmic clicking sound that runs through the entire famous song “It’s Probably Me” is nothing more than the sound of a Zippo lighter (close the lid, open the lid, strike a spark, close, open). Legend has it that Eric Clapton, who was commissioned to write a song with Sting for the film Lethal Weapon 3, could not come up with a melody and dejectedly clicked on his beloved Zippo. However, in the hands of a great musician, even a lighter turned into an instrument: the clicks inspired a musical idea and were used in the recording itself.

9. During World War II, the company had to introduce two significant changes - in production and sales policy. Since copper and zinc (components of brass) were in demand in the defense industry, lighters began to be made of steel, and to prevent them from rusting, they were painted with black paint. Black Zippos, unlike shiny ones, were also more useful at the front in terms of camouflage. And due to the enormous demand from the military, lighters were no longer sold to civilians. The durable and reliable Zippo has become as much a symbol of the American army as the jeep or Lucky Strike cigarettes. Each soldier had his own Zippo.

10. All serial Zippo lighters are made of brass, that is, they are naturally yellow. The steel color is obtained through the galvanization process.

11. Zippo lighters were made of gold and platinum, covered with crystals and diamonds. The most unusual of them was sold to an anonymous buyer in 2006 for $6.81 million. A pistol with six 6mm cartridges was hidden in the miniature lighter body.
12. There are at least five documented cases (in times of war and peace) when a Zippo lighter in a pocket took the hit of a bullet and saved the owner’s life. The first of these lucky ones is Private Klinger, who in 1944 in Germany after a battle found not only his favorite lighter in his trouser pocket, but also a bullet flattened against it. Moreover, unlike a bullet, the lighter continued to work!

13. In all the films with Bruce Willis, where his character uses a lighter, this lighter is a Zippo. Without exception.

Interesting object? Let's then not limit ourselves to these facts, but take an interest in the history of the brand.

A cult item must have a legend. Stories about how a company allegedly produced motor scooters, and for inexplicable reasons they became an icon of an entire subculture (we are, of course, talking about Vespa), although extremely true, are also extremely boring. Such things cannot happen spontaneously - at least from the point of view of marketers; so quite ordinary stories of things are overgrown with details and anecdotes.

Now no one knows for certain (and no one will find out anymore) why exactly the lighters, put on sale almost 75 years ago by the small Pennsylvania industrialist George Blaisdell, became an object of worship, a collectible, a fact of world culture, in the end. But the legend is “absolutely certain” about how one summer evening in 1932 Blaisdell went out to take a breath on the veranda of a club in the town of Bradford, where he lived and rather unsuccessfully (the Great Depression was in its midst) sold oil equipment. On the veranda, Blaisdell's friend unsuccessfully struggled with a tattered metal lighter made in Austria: the lid did not want to unscrew. Having thoroughly enjoyed his friend’s torment, Blaisdell venomously asked why he didn’t buy himself another, more attractive in appearance. “This one works!” - barked a friend who finally managed to light a cigarette. The word was spoken, and according to the marketing myth-makers, George Blaisdell couldn't sleep all night. The engineer realized that in front of him was a goldmine. Everyone needed lighters. Lighters were generally not very reliable. An inexpensive and absolutely reliable lighter could really be a success in those uncertain years.

Blaisdell began by selling those same Austrian lighters, one of which his friend used, and purchased a large batch. Alas, my friend was mistaken: the phrase “This one works” obviously applied to only one single copy, and by no means to all the products of unknown European manufacturers. Either way, Blaisdell didn't sell a single piece. But he was an engineer and decided that some improvements could improve matters. He rented a small workshop for ten dollars a month, bought some simple used equipment (a stamping press, welding machine etc.), hired three craftsmen and got to work. At first, the freely removable lid of the Austrian lighter became hinged - now you could operate it with one hand. The body was reduced in size to fit into a jeans pocket and plated in chrome. Other elements, such as the wind shield around the wick, have not undergone any changes. Blaisdell decided to call his product Zipper by analogy with the popular zipper (the engineer supposedly liked the sound of it), but the word turned out to be patented and had to be slightly changed - exactly like the anonymous Austrian design. Now the lighter had to be sold.

One of the two components of his business plan - “cheapness and reliability” - immediately had to be sacrificed. Almost two dollars is not small money for 1932. But Blaisdell handled the second part decisively. He simply announced that he provides a lifetime warranty on lighters. It was a popular advertising gimmick, but in the case of Zippo it worked flawlessly. The fact is that lighters from other manufacturers really often broke, and everyone knew it. The information that Blaisdell's company actually replaces a broken lighter free of charge within 48 hours after receiving a complaint caused a sensation. True, lighters of the new brand rarely broke.

It is generally accepted that Zippo made his film debut in Vincent Minnelli's The Hours (1945). True, the lighter itself was not shown there, but from the dialogue between Judy Garland and Robert Walker it follows that this is exactly it. However, the filmmakers quickly realized what a luxurious symbol of courage and toughness fell into their hands. Montgomery Clift lit a Zippo in From Here to Eternity, Errol Flynn in Target Burma, Gregory Peck in Chop Hill, John Wayne in The Green Berets. However, using the lighter for its intended purpose quickly became uninteresting. Michael Douglas lovingly set fire to a hundred dollar bill with a zipper in Black Rain, Bruce Willis used it to save hostages in Die Hard, and Harrison Ford and Sean Connery used it to save themselves tied to one chair in Indiana Jones. In total, according to the company itself, Zippo appears or is mentioned in about eight hundred films, and it is especially emphasized that product placement methods were never used.

The Science of Selling

Blaisdell was, by his own admission, a so-so engineer (whether this self-critical statement corresponds to the truth, the reader can judge for himself by the depth of the redesign of the Austrian lighter). But he turned out to be an absolutely outstanding salesman: almost all of his advertising tricks subsequently became firmly established in business practice. Already in 1935, he offered to engrave the initials of the owners on lighters for separate, albeit small, money, and more specifically, for just one dollar on top for the initials or 75 cents if the customer chose some kind of design: a drunkard, a dog, or what something else. From a democratic everyday item, Zippo instantly became a source of pride for their owners - and practically for nothing. And a year later, a commercial idea was implemented, which logically followed from the previous one: if lighters with private initials are in demand, then why not depict corporate logos on the body? Of course, at the expense of the companies themselves, who receive excellent business gifts and “advertising that is always with you.” The first to take this unconventional move was the local company Kendall Refining, which supplied Blaisdell with gasoline for his lighters. The series circulation was 500 copies. And now there is practically no American company that would not order a corporate lighter from Zippo - and outside the United States, this method of attracting attention has long been widely used.

Blaisdell did not shy away from working with a wide variety of target audiences, because his products were designed for everyone. For some, the wealthy and highbrow, in 1937 he bought an entire page in Esquire magazine (for the American press of those years, accustomed to selling advertising space in square inches, this was a rare event), which required an astronomical sum for the owner of Zippo of three thousand dollars. Blaisdell did not have that kind of money, and had to take out a loan; the effect, however, exceeded all expectations: the Windproof Lady immediately began to earn back the money invested in her appearance on the Esquire page and still remains one of the most successful images in the history of advertising (like the Marlboro Cowboy, who much later, in 1954 year, picked up - well, of course, Zippo). Those who had never held Esquire in their hands were offered simpler advertising. At that time, a simple gambling game called punchboard was popular in US bars - a shield with many randomly numbered holes was covered with a sheet of paper with circles opposite these holes; the presenter announced the winning numbers in advance, and the player poked a pencil into the circles - if it turned out that the hole number coincided with the winnings, the player received a prize. Zippo became, so to speak, the general sponsor of punchboards nationwide - and on this alone, from 1934 to 1940, it sold 300 thousand lighters. Unfortunately, in 1940, punchboarding was banned as entertainment that undermined the ethical foundations of society.

Blaisdell's imagination was seemingly inexhaustible. In 1937, he launched the so-called sports series, which marked the beginning of thematic releases of lighters. The first “sports series” included lighters with images of a Golfer, a Fisherman, a Hunter, a Bulldog, a Hound and, for some reason, an Elephant. The golfer model was number 275, and on this simple basis, “sporty” Zippo sold for $2.75. Well, where there are “limited editions”, it’s not far from collectors. The first collectors appeared just before the Second World War, and now early “sports” lighters are the subject of a special hunt for zippomaniacs.

War and Peace

Zippo has always looked like a real men's toy (the appearance of the “slim zippo” for the fairer sex has not changed this situation in principle). And if so, then representatives of the most masculine profession could not pass by such a wonderful device. It was the American soldiers of the Second World War who created Zippo's not only local but international fame.

The Pennsylvania lighter, of course, was not included in the standard equipment of a US Army soldier. But they willingly bought it at their own expense - it was unpretentious in handling, elegant, and, moreover, made from accessible raw materials. True, compared to pre-war times appearance lighters have undergone some changes. Strategic copper was replaced by stainless steel, and chrome plating was also rejected as a luxury unacceptable in wartime. The wartime Zippo, a black, crudely finished lighter, became an apt symbol of difficult times. Instead of corporate logos, emblems of units and formations began to be engraved on lighters, and instead of private initials, soldiers’ personal numbers were engraved. Zippo has become especially popular in the navy - after all, sailors always have a little more money and free time. Ship commanders began ordering “branded” lighters in batches, and now these rarities are an important part of any Zippo collection. At this time, the first celebrity lighters appeared, adjusted for the time - celebrities in uniform. There is a well-known black “military” lighter of General Douglas MacArthur, decorated with four stars corresponding to his rank.

If the second world war brought fame to Zippo, then Vietnamese brought fame. Now it was a legal element of military equipment, and the War Ministry did not fail to issue special instructions, which explained that Zippo was suitable not only for lighting a cigarette, but also as a burner or signal mirror (the surface of the lighter again became shiny). During the conflict in Southeast Asia, Zippo supplied over 200 thousand copies of its products to the US Army. It was in Vietnam that legends about the Famous Lighters were born - like the one that was in Sergeant Martinez's breast pocket and saved him from a bullet, or the one with which Staff Sergeant Naugle signaled a recovery helicopter and stayed alive.

However, Zippo clearly had no intention of joining the military-industrial complex. Between the two wars, the company continued to work inventively - in rather difficult conditions, because the founder of the brand, George Blaisdell, bequeathed never to change the design he came up with. Tabletop and women's lighters appeared, new sports series and new legends like the story of Zippo, discovered in the stomach of a caught fish (and, of course, in good working order). Since 1949, Bradford's monopoly on the production of lighters was interrupted - Zippo Canada appeared with own production, naturally, technologically indistinguishable from the Pennsylvania one, and the average retail price of a copy reached ten dollars. Since the late 60s, the production of the famous “space series” began - the company managed to obtain the right to put the NASA logo on the case and present special gift lighters of a special design to the astronauts who returned to Earth; however, of course, anyone could buy their simplified copies.

In 1982, Zippo bosses decided that the lighter's half-century anniversary was a sufficient reason to begin producing replicas of the first rare issues. Nowadays, replicas account for a significant volume of sales of the so-called “first Zippo” - debutant Zippo lovers prefer to start with simple, old-fashioned copies (by the way, replicas from 1982 have now become objects of collecting themselves). And twenty years later, on September 3, 2003, the anniversary, 400 millionth Zippo was released. Considering that, despite the general fight against smoking, the company produces 12 million lighters a year, another historical event in the life of Zippo - the half-billionth lighter - happened somewhere in late 2011 - early 2012.

Let me remind you a few more amazing stories famous brands: or here. Well, now we’re catching up The original article is on the website InfoGlaz.rf Link to the article from which this copy was made -

History of invention

The Zippo lighter was brought to market by an American entrepreneur named George Grant Blaisdell. George Grant Blaisdell) in 1932, and the prototype for it was a windproof lighter made in Austria, which he saw in the hands of his companion at a party. The legend describes the history of the appearance of the Zippo lighter as follows:

Stamps on the bottom of the lighter

Stamps of different Zippo models

In 2000, the year designation on the stamp was printed in both Roman and Arabic numerals (Slim model)

All Zippo lighters from the very first day of release have a distinctive stamp on the bottom with the Zippo logo; early models have a patent number on the stamp. Since 1957, a stamp was placed on the bottom of all Zippo lighters indicating the year (later and month) of the lighter's release. Before 1966, the year of manufacture was indicated by a sequence of dots (.) to the left and right of the logo. From to 1973, the release year was indicated by a combination of vertical stripes (|), with forward slashes (/), and from June to backslashes (\). Since July 1986, the stamp also carries information about the month the lighter was produced. To the left of the logo, letters from A to L indicate the month (A - January, B - February, etc.), to the right - the year. In 1986, the year designation began with the Roman numeral II and ended in 2000 with the numeral XVI. Since 2001, the year designations have switched to Arabic numerals, 01 means 2001, etc. For example, a stamp with the designations E 04 indicates a lighter produced in May 2004.

The lighter was released in 2005, but there is a patent number on the stamp

Zippo Blue

Lighter Zippo Blue

After 75 years of faithfulness to classic technology, the company decided to create a new gas lighter, which was called Zippo Blu. It uses butane as fuel, so the flame it creates is blue. From the regular gasoline Zippo, the Zippo Blu lighter inherited a similar design of the wheel and flint holder. The holes in the windshield, unlike a gasoline lighter, on Zippo Blu form the letter Z. The line of these lighters is presented in many varieties, design options and body finishing materials, ranging from regular chrome to gold plating. Zippo Blu lighters also come with a lifetime warranty. The production of these models officially began in 2006, however, pilot copies of the Zippo Blu from 2005 are known, which are extremely rare and have a high collector's value.

Modern catalog of Zippo lighters

Even the Zippo Manufacturing Company itself cannot say with accuracy how many different logos and lighter designs have been produced over the years of the company's existence - their number can reach hundreds of thousands. In addition, there are many different series of lighters that are produced for sale only in one country, and thus become rare in other countries. The modern catalog of Zippo lighters, which are intended for sale all over the world, has several thematic sections in which lighters are divided according to the designs and emblems decorating them. In part, this division is very arbitrary, since the themes of the images on lighters are too diverse.

The main sections of the catalog are called All About Me (various decorative images and inscriptions), Indulgence (manufacturer logos alcoholic drinks, symbols of Playboy magazine), Art and Entertainment (theme of cinema, actors, musical groups), Heroes (military and patriotic themes), Hot Cars (car symbols), Work & Play (this includes sports themes, gambling, recreation, etc.), Heritage (lighters with Zippo logos, images related to the history of the company), Classics (basic models without inscriptions or images), Slims (narrow models of lighters), Animals (images of animals), Pipe lighters ( lighters for lighting pipes). There are sports series MLB (symbols of the Major League Baseball teams), NBA (symbols of the National Basketball Association teams) and NFL (symbols of the National Football League teams). Playboy, Harley-Davidson, Zippo Motorsports and Military Collection are separated into separate series - the design of lighters in these series does not overlap with lighters from the main sections of the catalog. And finally, the so-called “Selected Collection” is a separate line in the catalog. Choice Collection) - the most beautiful examples of lighters (their themes may vary), selected by the company itself as the best in the current year’s catalog.

The Zippo lighter catalog is expanding every year due to the release of new models, while the most successful and popular models of previous years, as a rule, continue to be produced.

Zippo and World War II

World War II Zippo lighter with name and date "17-7-44" scrawled on it

American war correspondent Ernie Pyle Ernie Pyle) wrote about Zippo lighters in 1944:

If I were to talk about how much the Zippo lighter is in demand in the army and about the delight and gratitude with which our soldiers accept it, then I would probably be accused of exaggeration. But I'm really confident that the Zippo remains the most sought-after item on the front.

It was since World War II that Zippo lighters gained worldwide fame due to their prevalence among American army soldiers.

Zippo and the Vietnam War

Vietnam War era Zippo lighter

The next line in the history of Zippo lighters was written by the Vietnam War, in which American troops participated from 1973 to 1973. There are also many stories and legends about the role of the Zippo lighter in the lives of American soldiers. The lighter served as a source of fire and heat, could be used to heat food, there are stories of wounded soldiers using Zippo fire to indicate their location to rescue teams, and even how a lighter in the breast pocket saved the life of its owner by stopping a bullet. Lighters of that time are unique, as soldiers made engravings on their lighters, which indicated the years and place of their service in Vietnam, often containing the names and symbols of units and units, maps of Vietnam, and anti-war slogans. Zippo was then, as during World War II, a reminder of home for soldiers, and it was valued no less than a personal weapon.

Vietnam War era Zippo lighter

Nowadays, Zippo lighters from the Vietnam War period are one of the most valuable collectible items in the entire history of their production, and are of serious interest to many collectors around the world. At the same time, increased interest has led to the fact that “Vietnamese” Zippos are counterfeited more often than others, and only an experienced collector can distinguish a real lighter of that time from a skillful modern fake.

Military theme in Zippo lighters

In the United States, Zippo has sponsored the world's largest Zippo collectors' club, the Zippo Click, with more than 15,000 members worldwide since 2002. The club regularly holds collectors' meetings, themed events and auctions, produces collectible series of lighters distributed only to club members, and publishes reference guides for Zippo collectors. Zippo Collectors guide), and until 2006 he published his own magazine for collectors, Click magazine.

The cost of collectible Zippo lighters depends on many factors: metal, design, degree of rarity and preservation, year of manufacture. The highest amount paid by a collector for a lighter was $37,000. It was a perfectly preserved 1933 model, sold at auction by the Zippo Manufacturing Company itself in 2007. In 2001, at a meeting of Zippo collectors in Tokyo, a similar lighter from 1933 was sold for $18,000. A year later, the Zippo company itself bought a similar lighter from the first years of production from another collector for its museum for $12,000.

However, the collectible value of a particular lighter may depend not only on the listed factors, but also on the degree of accessibility of the lighter for the collector interested in it: for example, a company produces many serial lighters, which are not rare in themselves, but are intended for sale only in one country, so such models can automatically become collectible rarities for collectors from other countries.

Zippo in cinema and popular culture

Notes

1. Zippo today. Zippo.ru. Archived
2. Message from Zippo President and Chief Executive Officer. Archived from the original on January 28, 2012. Retrieved November 28, 2008.
3. Zippo Classic models catalog (English) . Zippo. - Product catalogue. (inaccessible link - story) Retrieved November 28, 2008.
4. History of the Zippo lighter. "Russian tobacco". Archived from the original on January 28, 2012. Retrieved November 28, 2008.
5. Zippo Manufacturing Company (English). Zippo Manufacturing Company. (inaccessible link - story) Retrieved November 28, 2008.
6. Zippo founder George G. Blaisdell. (inaccessible link - story) Retrieved November 28, 2008.
7. Pocket lighter, United States Patent 2032695
8. United States Patent 2032695 (English). FreePatentsOnline.com, online patent library. Archived from the original on January 28, 2012. Retrieved March 15, 2010.
9. The World Famous Zippo Guarantee. (inaccessible link - story) Retrieved November 28, 2008.
10. Zippo Lifetime Warranty. Archived from the original on January 28, 2012. Retrieved November 28, 2008.
11. Building an American Icon. Zippo Click Collectors Club. Archived from the original on January 28, 2012. Retrieved November 28, 2008.
12. ZIPPO Lighters: The History of an American Icon. Ebay.com. Archived from the original on January 28, 2012. Retrieved November 28, 2008.
13. Zippo Canada (English) . Canadian branch of Zippo. Archived from the original on February 1, 2012. Retrieved November 28, 2008.
14. Zippo Canada final run limited edition (English) . Archived from the original on January 28, 2012. Retrieved November 28, 2008.
15. Virtual Zippo lighter | Computer Bild
16. Zippo bottom stamps and date codes (English) . Zippo Click Collectors Club. - Description of the dating of lighters. Archived from the original on January 28, 2012. Retrieved November 28, 2008.
17. George W. Hamlet. Zippo bottom stamps, 1986-today (English) . - Stamps and dating of Zippo lighters. Archived from the original on January 28, 2012. Retrieved November 28, 2008.
18. Zippo BLU: press release. Archived from the original on January 28, 2012. Retrieved November 28, 2008.
19. Zippo Products catalog (English) . Zippo. - Catalog of lighters. (inaccessible link - story) Retrieved November 28, 2008.
20. Zippo in the Military: WWII, Walter Nadler, War Commemorative (English). Zippo Click Collectors Club. - Zippo and World War II. Archived from the original on January 28, 2012. Retrieved November 28, 2008.
21. Zippo in the Military (English). (inaccessible link - story) Retrieved November 28, 2008.
22. Robert Munoz. The Zippo goes to Vietnam (English) . Website of a French collector of “Vietnamese” Zippos. Archived from the original on January 28, 2012. Retrieved November 28, 2008.
23. Robert Munoz. Fake Vietnam Zippos (English) . Archived from the original on January 28, 2012. Retrieved November 28, 2008.
24. Zippo Accessories (English) . Zippo. - Catalog of accessories. (inaccessible link - story) Retrieved November 28, 2008.
25. Zippo multi-purpose lighters (English) . (inaccessible link - story) Retrieved November 28, 2008.
26. Zippo Watches (English) . Online store Smokerstuff.com. Archived from the original on January 28, 2012. Retrieved November 28, 2008.

History of invention

The Zippo lighter was brought to market by an American entrepreneur named George Grant Blaisdell. George Grant Blaisdell) in 1932, and the prototype for it was a windproof lighter made in Austria, which he saw in the hands of his companion at a party. The legend describes the history of the appearance of the Zippo lighter as follows:

Stamps on the bottom of the lighter

Stamps of different Zippo models

In 2000, the year designation on the stamp was printed in both Roman and Arabic numerals (Slim model)

All Zippo lighters from the very first day of release have a distinctive stamp on the bottom with the Zippo logo; early models have a patent number on the stamp. Since 1957, a stamp was placed on the bottom of all Zippo lighters indicating the year (later and month) of the lighter's release. Before 1966, the year of manufacture was indicated by a sequence of dots (.) to the left and right of the logo. From to 1973, the release year was indicated by a combination of vertical stripes (|), with forward slashes (/), and from June to backslashes (\). Since July 1986, the stamp also carries information about the month the lighter was produced. To the left of the logo, letters from A to L indicate the month (A - January, B - February, etc.), to the right - the year. In 1986, the year designation began with the Roman numeral II and ended in 2000 with the numeral XVI. Since 2001, year designations have switched to Arabic numerals, 01 means 2001, etc. For example, a stamp with the designations E 04 indicates a lighter produced in May 2004.

The lighter was released in 2005, but there is a patent number on the stamp

Zippo Blue

Lighter Zippo Blue

After 75 years of faithfulness to classic technology, the company decided to create a new gas lighter, which was called Zippo Blu. It uses butane as fuel, so the flame it creates is blue. From the regular gasoline Zippo, the Zippo Blu lighter inherited a similar design of the wheel and flint holder. The holes in the windshield, unlike a gasoline lighter, on Zippo Blu form the letter Z. The line of these lighters is presented in many varieties, design options and body finishing materials, ranging from regular chrome to gold plating. Zippo Blu lighters also come with a lifetime warranty. The production of these models officially began in 2006, however, pilot copies of the Zippo Blu from 2005 are known, which are extremely rare and have a high collector's value.

Modern catalog of Zippo lighters

Even the Zippo Manufacturing Company itself cannot say with accuracy how many different logos and lighter designs have been produced over the years of the company's existence - their number can reach hundreds of thousands. In addition, there are many different series of lighters that are produced for sale only in one country, and thus become rare in other countries. The modern catalog of Zippo lighters, which are intended for sale all over the world, has several thematic sections in which lighters are divided according to the designs and emblems decorating them. In part, this division is very arbitrary, since the themes of the images on lighters are too diverse.

The main sections of the catalog are called All About Me (various decorative images and inscriptions), Indulgence (emblems of alcoholic beverage manufacturers, symbols of Playboy magazine), Art and Entertainment (theme of cinema, actors, musical groups), Heroes (military and patriotic themes), Hot Cars (automotive symbols), Work & Play (this includes themes of sports, gambling, recreation, etc.), Heritage (lighters with Zippo logos, images related to the history of the company), Classics (basic models without inscriptions or images), Slims (narrow models of lighters), Animals (images of animals), Pipe lighters (lighters for lighting pipes). There are sports series MLB (symbols of the Major League Baseball teams), NBA (symbols of the National Basketball Association teams) and NFL (symbols of the National Football League teams). Playboy, Harley-Davidson, Zippo Motorsports and Military Collection are separated into separate series - the design of lighters in these series does not overlap with lighters from the main sections of the catalog. And finally, the so-called “Selected Collection” is a separate line in the catalog. Choice Collection) - the most beautiful examples of lighters (their themes may vary), selected by the company itself as the best in the current year’s catalog.

The Zippo lighter catalog is expanding every year due to the release of new models, while the most successful and popular models of previous years, as a rule, continue to be produced.

Zippo and World War II

World War II Zippo lighter with name and date "17-7-44" scrawled on it

American war correspondent Ernie Pyle Ernie Pyle) wrote about Zippo lighters in 1944:

If I were to talk about how much the Zippo lighter is in demand in the army and about the delight and gratitude with which our soldiers accept it, then I would probably be accused of exaggeration. But I'm really confident that the Zippo remains the most sought-after item on the front.

It was since World War II that Zippo lighters gained worldwide fame due to their prevalence among American army soldiers.

Zippo and the Vietnam War

Vietnam War era Zippo lighter

The next line in the history of Zippo lighters was written by the Vietnam War, in which American troops participated from 1973 to 1973. There are also many stories and legends about the role of the Zippo lighter in the lives of American soldiers. The lighter served as a source of fire and heat, could be used to heat food, there are stories of wounded soldiers using Zippo fire to indicate their location to rescue teams, and even how a lighter in the breast pocket saved the life of its owner by stopping a bullet. Lighters of that time are unique, as soldiers made engravings on their lighters, which indicated the years and place of their service in Vietnam, often containing the names and symbols of units and units, maps of Vietnam, and anti-war slogans. Zippo was then, as during World War II, a reminder of home for soldiers, and it was valued no less than a personal weapon.

Vietnam War era Zippo lighter

Nowadays, Zippo lighters from the Vietnam War period are one of the most valuable collectible items in the entire history of their production, and are of serious interest to many collectors around the world. At the same time, increased interest has led to the fact that “Vietnamese” Zippos are counterfeited more often than others, and only an experienced collector can distinguish a real lighter of that time from a skillful modern fake.

Military theme in Zippo lighters

In the United States, Zippo has sponsored the world's largest Zippo collectors' club, the Zippo Click, with more than 15,000 members worldwide since 2002. The club regularly holds collectors' meetings, themed events and auctions, produces collectible series of lighters distributed only to club members, and publishes reference guides for Zippo collectors. Zippo Collectors guide), and until 2006 he published his own magazine for collectors, Click magazine.

The cost of collectible Zippo lighters depends on many factors: metal, design, degree of rarity and preservation, year of manufacture. The highest amount paid by a collector for a lighter was $37,000. It was a perfectly preserved 1933 model, sold at auction by the Zippo Manufacturing Company itself in 2007. In 2001, at a meeting of Zippo collectors in Tokyo, a similar lighter from 1933 was sold for $18,000. A year later, the Zippo company itself bought a similar lighter from the first years of production from another collector for its museum for $12,000.

However, the collectible value of a particular lighter may depend not only on the listed factors, but also on the degree of accessibility of the lighter for the collector interested in it: for example, a company produces many serial lighters, which are not rare in themselves, but are intended for sale only in one country, so such models can automatically become collectible rarities for collectors from other countries.

Zippo in cinema and popular culture

Notes

1. Zippo today. Zippo.ru. Archived
2. Message from Zippo President and Chief Executive Officer. Archived from the original on January 28, 2012. Retrieved November 28, 2008.
3. Zippo Classic models catalog (English) . Zippo. - Product catalogue. (inaccessible link - story) Retrieved November 28, 2008.
4. History of the Zippo lighter. "Russian tobacco". Archived from the original on January 28, 2012. Retrieved November 28, 2008.
5. Zippo Manufacturing Company (English). Zippo Manufacturing Company. (inaccessible link - story) Retrieved November 28, 2008.
6. Zippo founder George G. Blaisdell. (inaccessible link - story) Retrieved November 28, 2008.
7. Pocket lighter, United States Patent 2032695
8. United States Patent 2032695 (English). FreePatentsOnline.com, online patent library. Archived from the original on January 28, 2012. Retrieved March 15, 2010.
9. The World Famous Zippo Guarantee. (inaccessible link - story) Retrieved November 28, 2008.
10. Zippo Lifetime Warranty. Archived from the original on January 28, 2012. Retrieved November 28, 2008.
11. Building an American Icon. Zippo Click Collectors Club. Archived from the original on January 28, 2012. Retrieved November 28, 2008.
12. ZIPPO Lighters: The History of an American Icon. Ebay.com. Archived from the original on January 28, 2012. Retrieved November 28, 2008.
13. Zippo Canada (English) . Canadian branch of Zippo. Archived from the original on February 1, 2012. Retrieved November 28, 2008.
14. Zippo Canada final run limited edition (English) . Archived from the original on January 28, 2012. Retrieved November 28, 2008.
15. Virtual Zippo lighter | Computer Bild
16. Zippo bottom stamps and date codes (English) . Zippo Click Collectors Club. - Description of the dating of lighters. Archived from the original on January 28, 2012. Retrieved November 28, 2008.
17. George W. Hamlet. Zippo bottom stamps, 1986-today (English) . - Stamps and dating of Zippo lighters. Archived from the original on January 28, 2012. Retrieved November 28, 2008.
18. Zippo BLU: press release. Archived from the original on January 28, 2012. Retrieved November 28, 2008.
19. Zippo Products catalog (English) . Zippo. - Catalog of lighters. (inaccessible link - story) Retrieved November 28, 2008.
20. Zippo in the Military: WWII, Walter Nadler, War Commemorative (English). Zippo Click Collectors Club. - Zippo and World War II. Archived from the original on January 28, 2012. Retrieved November 28, 2008.
21. Zippo in the Military (English). (inaccessible link - story) Retrieved November 28, 2008.
22. Robert Munoz. The Zippo goes to Vietnam (English) . Website of a French collector of “Vietnamese” Zippos. Archived from the original on January 28, 2012. Retrieved November 28, 2008.
23. Robert Munoz. Fake Vietnam Zippos (English) . Archived from the original on January 28, 2012. Retrieved November 28, 2008.
24. Zippo Accessories (English) . Zippo. - Catalog of accessories. (inaccessible link - story) Retrieved November 28, 2008.
25. Zippo multi-purpose lighters (English) . (inaccessible link - story) Retrieved November 28, 2008.
26. Zippo Watches (English) . Online store Smokerstuff.com. Archived from the original on January 28, 2012. Retrieved November 28, 2008.