Zippo is almost synonymous with the lighter. But how did it get that way? The entire story of this successful lighter company is almost too amazing to be true.
George Blaisdell founded the company in the 1930s as the Depression had gripped America. But cigarette  smoking had become popular since packs were included in soldier’s rations in World War I and lighters were everywhere. Blaisdell offered a lifetime guarantee on his lighters – “it works or we fix it for free” – that still holds true today and coupled with his promotional genius, Zippo’s sales soared. Lucas noted that “One interesting early marketing device for Zippo was the use of the punchboard. For five cents, store patrons could punch a paper slip out of one of the holes in the board and, with a little luck, win a Zippo, which sold for $1.95 at the time. These came off the counter-tops of bars and stores in 1940 when the device was ruled illegal as a ‘game of chance”.
Then Zippo’s other great marketing break came when World War II broke out and the military ordered so many lighters that consumer production was ended. Wartime ads for the company told the public at home, “We’ve been drafted by Uncle Sam. So be kind to your Zippo. You won’t be able to get another for the duration.”
By war’s end, millions of lighters had been distributed or purchased by the troops and the massive distribution throughout the service ranks ensured its future popularity. Lucas points out that every U.S. Navy ship “has its own custom-designed Zippo.”
Among the thousands of stories about Zippo reliability: a lighter was once removed from the stomach of a fish and still worked, as did another which resided – for a time – in the stomach of a bear!
That’s enough to get anyone fired up about Zippo.
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 09 July 2008 )
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It’s an 1890s wood and metal cutter meant to sit on top of a cigar store display case. The user inserted his cigar  and the machine automatically began spinning the center wheel (pictured above). The payoff was that if the wheel stopped on one of several designated “winning” locations, the customer would get a free cigar!
It was sold at auction in April 2008 and according to the auctioneers, “The piece is one of only three known to exist, and was made more desirable by having the original marquee and dial. It was in fine working order.”
It was expected to go for $30-50,000. But the final price, including the buyer’s premium, was $60,500! Safe to say, the new owner is unlikely to place it in a cigar store again any time soon!
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 19 June 2008 )
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The famed clown figure has been as much a symbol of cigars in British and Italian communities as the American Indian has  been for Americans through the centuries. And that popularity came through in a recent auction of a brightly-colored Punch figure from the 19th Century.
An 18-inch high counter statute of Punch brought a remarkable $207,000 at auction last month at the Morphy Spring Toy Auction held in Denver, Colorado. With its almost intact-paintwork, the figure dates from around 1885 and was made by the well-known firm of William DeMuth & Co.
This figure is made of zinc rather than wood and was reported to be one of the best-kept examples of this type of figure and relatively few are known to still be in existence.
It isn’t the highest price for a Punch figure, of course. Last year, a wooden Punch that stood about five feet high went for the astonishing price of $542,000 in an auction last October. But “inch for inch,” the latest auction brought a higher price!
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 14 May 2008 )
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The best-tasting cigar in the world last year was rolled in the Padrón factory in Esteli in northern Nicaragua,  according to the most recent rankings from Cigar Aficionado magazine.
The magazine named the Padrón Serie 1926 No. 9 the best smoke in 2007 in its most recent top-25 cigar ranking.
The cigar is rolled under the supervision of José Orlando Padrón, who started making cigars for fellow Cuban émigrés in Miami after fleeing his native Cuba. The Miami stogie guru began growing tobacco in Nicaragua in the 1960s when he couldn't find the blend he was looking for in the United States, says Padrón spokesman Cesar Gadea.
"It's the blend, the construction, quality control. That's what it is. There are a lot of other companies (in Nicaragua ) that make cigars, but we're still the only one that has been chosen for the No. 1 cigar," Gadea said in a phone interview from the family-run company's Miami office.
The Padróns have never finished out of the top three in Cigar Aficionado's Top 25 tastings, and this is the second time one of their cigars has been named the No. 1 cigar of the year.
"They are clearly at the top of their game," Cigar Aficionado said of the Padróns.
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 30 April 2008 )
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