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The
Earliest Zippos
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The first Zippo lighters was introduced by
George G Blaisdell
in early 1933. These so-called 'Tall' models are extremely rare and are readily distinguishable by a flat bottom, square corners and an outside hinge. It is 2 7/16” tall, ¼ taller than later models and was produced in 1933 only. Diagonal corner lines were added for decorative purposes in late 1933. The square corner models were continued on in the regular size from 1934 through 1940. An internal hinge replaced the outside hinge in 1936. These early Zippos are not dated in any way, so with the exception of the 1933 tall model it is not possible establish year of manufacture with certainty.
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This lighter is a tall 1933
Zippo and has no diagonal
lines, which makes it one of
the
earliest examples of the
Zippo lighter. It has
been repaired as the hinge
has been replaced. The
original hinge has three
barrels, while the hinge on
the repaired Zippo has a
non-chromed four barrel
hinge. The inserts on the
early Zippos had no markings
and the bottom of the case
is marked "Pat. Pending". |
The Ultimate Zippo |
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This tall 1933 Zippo has
the decorative diagonal
lines. The hinge is
original which is unusual,
since the original hinges
were fragile and often
repaired. A "35" has been
scratched into the side of
the insert. The chimney has
16 holes and the lighter has
a piston-spring. |
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The only noticeable
differences between this
1934-36 Zippo and the 1933
model is the height of the
case (1/4 inch shorter) and
the insert which is slightly
shorter too. It has the same
outside hinge and the piston
spring. |
This plain 1934-36 Zippo is
in near
mint condition. Any early
Zippo with
an original outside hinge
is highly
sought after by most Zippo
collectors. |
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Here is a very unusual early
test-model
1934-36 Zippo. The outside
hinge has been repaired.
The front lid has an
attached stars & stripes
flag emblem, and the case
appears to have been
prepared for the
Town & Country sloop and
the reverse has a
line-drawn
fisherman design. Since
the sloop and
fisherman are both from the
Sports Series introduced in
the late 1940's, one could
speculate that this lighter
was returned to
Zippo for repair in the
1940's, was replaced
with a new one and then used
as a scrap
lighter for testing. |
The first advertising on a
Zippo was produced for
Kendall Oil & Refining
Company in 1935. Other
advertisers
soon followed.
Oil companies such as
Gulf were early adopted of
the Zippo
lighter for their
advertising. Some paint
in the metallique on this
Zippo is missing. |
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In 1936, the outside hinge
was
replaced by an internal
hinge. |
This 1936-40 Zippo has
advertising for
"Be Square" in metallique |
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