Archives Center, National Museum of American History

Guide to the Zippo Lighter Advertising Collection

Summary

Collection ID:
NMAH.AC.0094
Creators:
Zippo Manufacturing Company
Jones, William (Vice President, Zippo Lighter)
Dates:
1937 - 1998
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
0.75 Cubic feet
2 boxes, 3 oversize folders
Repository:

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
Advertising brochures, posters, and articles on the company.

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
The Zippo Company has made over 300 million cigarette lighters since it was founded in 1932. The founder, George Blaisdell, believed that the policy of planned obsolescence repulsive, so he guaranteed his product "forever". Any Zippo lighter sent back to the factory has always been repaired at no charge to the customer. According to the company's official history, the lighter's qualities, windproof and rugged, caught on big during World War II when just about every man in the service, dogface to Dwight D. Eisenhower, had one. There are numerous stories of the lighter being used to illuminate airplane instrument panels and as emergency signaling devices. There is a confirmed instance of a lighter working after being frozen in solid ice for four months, and one which survived an 1,100 foot fall. Zippo began diversifying in 1962 into such products as money clips, flashlights and pocket rules. The Case Cutlery Company has been a subsidiary of Zippo since 1993.

Administration

Author
Frank Jenkins
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Collection donated by William Jones, Vice President of Zippo, March 1983.
Processing Information
Collection processed by Frank Jenkins, 2004
Custodial History
The first part of the collection was donated to the Division of Domestic Life in 1983 by William Jones, Vice President of the Zippo Company and transferred to the Archives Center in February, 1983. The second part, the 65th Anniversary material, was donated in 1997 to the Archives Center by Patrick Grandy, the Marketing Communications Manager of Zippo.

Using the Collection

Preferred Citation
Zippo Lighter Advertising Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.

Related Materials
Collected in conjunction with accession no. 1983.0394, Division of Home and Community Life (now Division of Cultural and Community Life).

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Pamphlets -- 20th century Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Posters -- 20th century Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Articles Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Cigar lighters -- 1930-1980 Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Smoking -- 1930-1980 Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Domestic Life Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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