|
A Zippo lighter is a reusable metal lighter manufactured by Zippo Manufacturing Company of Bradford, Pennsylvania, US,〔(David Lander ) "The Buyable Past," ''American Heritage'', February/March 2006.〕 and was inspired by an Austrian cigarette lighter of similar design made by IMCO. Thousands of different styles and designs have been made in the eight decades since their introduction including military versions for specific regiments. == Company history == George G. Blaisdell founded Zippo Manufacturing Company in 1932, and produced the first Zippo lighter in early 1933, being inspired by an Austrian cigarette lighter of similar design made by IMCO.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.imcolighters.com/ )〕 It got its name because Blaisdell liked the sound of the word "zipper" and "zippo" sounded more modern. On March 3, 1936, a patent was granted for the Zippo lighter. Zippo lighters became popular in the United States military, especially during World War II — when, as the company's web site says, Zippo "ceased production of lighters for consumer markets and dedicated all manufacturing to the US military".〔(The story of the Zippo Manufacturing Company ) at the company's website〕 Period Zippos were made of brass, but Zippo used a black crackle finished steel during the war years because of metal shortages. While the Zippo Manufacturing Company never had an official contract with the military, soldiers and armed forces personnel insisted that base exchange (BX) and post exchange (PX) stores carry this sought-after lighter.〔Zippo Companion by Avi Baer and Alexander Neumark (Hardcover - Dec 15, 2000) 192 pages Publisher: Compendium Publishing. ISBN 1-906347-13-1. ISBN 978-1-906347-13-0〕〔An American Legend Zippo: a Collector's Companion by Avi R; Neumark, Alexander Baer (Hardcover - 1999)〕 While it had previously been common to have Zippos with authorized badges, unit crests and division insignia, it became popular among the American soldiers of the Vietnam War to get their Zippos engraved with personal mottos. These lighters are now sought after collector's items and popular souvenirs for visitors to Vietnam.〔Sherry Buchanan and Bradford Edwards, ''Vietnam Zippos:American Soldiers’ Engravings and Stories, 1965—1973. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2007.〕 After World War II, the Zippo lighter became increasingly used in advertising by companies large and small through the 1960s.〔Paulette Dininny, "Keepers of the Flame: After Big Sales in World War II and Parts in Old Movies, Zippos Are Still Around, Often as hot Collector's Items," ''Smithsonian,'' vol. 29, no. 9 (December 1998), pg. 44.〕 Much of the early Zippo lighter advertising are works of art painted by hand, and as technology has evolved, so has the design and finish of the Zippo lighter. The basic mechanism of the Zippo lighter has remained unchanged. In 2002, Zippo expanded its product line to include a variety of utility-style multi-purpose lighters, known as Zippo MPLs. This was followed in 2005 with the Outdoor Utility Lighter, known as the OUL. These lighters are fueled with butane. In August 2007, Zippo released a new butane lighter called the Zippo BLU.〔() - Zippo Blu press release〕 A museum called "Zippo/Case visitors center" is located in Bradford, Pennsylvania, at 1932 Zippo Drive. This building contains rare and custom made Zippo lighters, and also sells the entire Zippo line. The museum was featured on the NPR program ''Weekend Edition'' on Sunday, January 25, 2009. The museum also contains an enormous collection of Case knives. Since the Zippo company's 60th anniversary in 1992, annual editions have been produced for Zippo collectors. From 1949 to 2002, Zippos were also produced in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada.〔(Zippo.ca — Welcome to Zippo Canada )〕 Since 1933, over 500,000,000 Zippo lighters have been produced. In 2009, Zippo announced plans to purchase Ronson Consumer Products Corporation, a long-time competitor in the lighter market.〔(Zippo Announces Plans for Ronson Acquisition )〕 On February 3, 2010, the deal was finalized.〔http://www.zippo.com/NewsAndEvents/Zippo_Announces_Ronson_Acquisition.aspx?article=8b2e0797-0f10-4ee2-a4f6-93fdbc97f86d〕 In March 2011, due to significant decrease of sales from 18 million lighters a year in the mid-1990s to about 12 million lighters a year recently, combined with increasing pressure on people not to smoke, Zippo Manufacturing Co. tried offering a wider variety of products using the Zippo name, such as watches, leisure clothing and eau de cologne. This strategy is similar to the success Victorinox Swiss Army Brands Inc. has had selling watches, luggage, clothing and fragrance.〔http://hosted2.ap.org/NYKIN/APOdd/Article_2011-03-20-Zippo-More%20Than%20Lighters/id-5085b8c4ab684f1099cd38e2449b584c〕 On June 5, 2012, the company manufactured its 500,000,000th lighter as well as celebrated its 80th anniversary. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Zippo」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|