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Vintage 1930's First Edition ZIPPO Square Case LIGHTER I have just come across a lighter collection and in this collection is what I believe to be a original vintage first edition 1933-1934 ZIPPO Square Case LIGHTER. It is marked "Zippo Mfg. Co. Bradford, PA ZIPPO Pat. Pending Made in USA". I have researched this lighter to find out that this is the very first edition of the zippo lighter produced!!!!

The outside mounted hinge was only used for a year 1933-1934 I believe after that they went to the normal hinge you see today. One of the few minor changes zippo has ever made to it's lighters. I an including information from the web sight that helped me date this lighter.

Another thing is that t is no pat. number it states patent pending on the bottom of the case which also tells you it is early zippo.

It is a true collectors item for the zippo collector and will be a wonderful, rare edition to any collection!

The bar in the back of the lid sticks. I have to manually push it down so that it will not hit the partition in the lid that guides the bar.

No dings I see just age wear.

"He decided to refashion the Austrian lighter in the fall of 1932. Mr. Blaisdell fabricated a rectangular case and attached the top of the lighter to the case with a hinge. He retained the chimney design which protected the flame under adverse conditions. The result was a lighter that looked good and was easy to operate. The first lighter, currently displayed at the Zippo/Case Museum in Bradford, was produced in early 1933.
The word "Zippo" was created by Mr. Blaisdell in 1932. He liked the sound of the word "zipper" so he formed different variations on the word and settled on "Zippo," deciding that it had a "modern" sound.
The first Zippo lighters sold for $ 1.95 each. And, from the very beginning, they were backed by Mr. Blaisdell's unconditional lifetime guarantee - "It works or we fix it freeTM."
Application for the original Zippo patent was filed on May 17, 1934, and patent number 2032695 was granted on March 3, 1936. A second patent, number 2517191 was issued on August 1, 1950. The design of the Zippo lighter basically remains the same to this day, with minor improvements."

I will be listing more lighters this weekend so check them out too!!!

Thank You for looking ....and as always, I am happy to answer any questions you may have. I am also willing to send additional pictures you may request ..... Happy bidding!!!

International bidders please note. You are welcome to bid after an approval from me, Also, please do not bid more than you want me to declare on the custom's form, as I will not put down false information. I do use Ebay's invoice system, so look for an remail from Ebay after the auction ends, and your shipping will be quoted t

I would just like to add that in the question below the gentlemen stated this was a 4 barrel hinge in the picture it may look like 4 barrel (the middle barrel is long) but upon closer examination t are only thee barrels to this hinge so that put this lighter between 1934-1935 according to his dates of 3 barrel outside hinge production. Thanks again!
I would like to apologize for the first group of listing pics not being as clear as the second but I finally figured out the super macro on the camera. :) So please let me know if t is anything more you would like to see in detail.
The two latest close ups are to show if this is an original insert for this lighter. Apparently the original insert had a piston under the (What I call) hinge/hammer that guides the lid to close. It appears to me to be a piston under this hinge. The gentleman who asked the question said it would look like the piston that is under the wheel...

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