Do you remember your first Zippo?
I vividly remember my first Zippo. Do you? If you're into collecting Zippo lighters like I am, then I'm sure you do! My first Zippo was actually not a lighter, but a Rule. I've spent much of my working career in the guitar business. My family and I moved to the Ithaca, NY area in 2006 when I started working for a well known vintage guitar shop. We did a fair amount of traveling to guitar shows and would often pass the exit for Bradford, PA. On one of our trips a co-worker asked me if I had ever stopped and the Zippo Museum. I answered that I hadn't. He said we should stop sometime. The next time we were on the road he handed me a Zippo Rule and said, "Here is your first Zippo". It was made for an adhesive company and he got it when he worked as a book binder. There was just something about the Etch & Paint design that I found captivating. My memory fails me, but I believe it was the same trip when I got my first Zippo lighter. It was purchased at the Route 66 Museum in Clinton, Oklahoma and I have it pictured below along with my Zippo Rule. It was the Zippo Rule that started my journey into collecting all things Zippo. I would have never guessed at the time that it would turn into my career! Please share a comment below on what was your first Zippo!
My first Zippo - a gift from a co-worker
My first Zippo lighter purchased in Clinton, Oklahoma in 2010
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Rob Moon
October 30, 2019
back in the early 70’s when I was still in high school my godfather Bob Zepps stopped by our house one day and handed me some Zippos., saying “here, you’re a smoker” He was a salesman for Sacramento Rubber at the time and I don’t know if he collected them thru work or what. I kept 2 I thought were cool and gave the others to my brothers. One was a classic Rust-oleum advertiser and the other was a California Seals pro hockey team. I used them both religiously over the years and somehow never lost them or never got pocketed by a friend. I still have them to this day, although both are well worn and have been repaired a few times each. Funny thing is when I really got serious about collecting, I used to see a new California Seals Zippo pop up on ebay now and then and had to have a nice mint one. I thought at first they might be rare, but over the years mint in the box ones still pop up regularly on ebay. They must have made hundreds of them!