==JAPAN: KM== [Hobbies]

I don't like smoking. But I love lighters ---- not 100-yen-lighters, but Zippo lighters. You know, a Zippo lighter always works, and it has a wide variety of colorful motifs and illustrations. A Zippo lighter has, however, a fixed shape. Many people enjoy using and collecting Zippo lighters. Why are some of us so captivated by them?
If Zippo's were just made of chrome-plated brass, they might be regarded as useful instruments that never fail to work in strong winds ---- but that would be the extent of their appeal. In reality, however, the chrome-plated case surface serves as a blank canvas on which a wide variety of colorful motifs and illustrations can be created. These include advertising, pictures of scenic spots, and military insignia ---- illustration whose charm and beauty are surely the very source of Zippo's attractiveness.
It is not too much to say that the significance of Zippo resides in its "shape." A Zippo lighter lies comfortably in the palm of a hand. An ounce more or less of weight would probably upset this delicate sense of perfection. Nowadays, it is commonplace to approach industrial design from an ergonomics viewpoint, but it is doubtful that George Blaisdell, the founder of Zippo, ---- simply trying to develop a new lighter in a room over an automobile repair shop on Boylston Street ---- was aware of ergonomics. However, we know that the dire economic conditions in the United States during the Great Depression did not permit him to take risks at that time; rather, he had to focus simply on creating a lighter that would always work. If such a constraint took him back to basics and inspired him to build ergonomic functionality and design into the Zippo lighter, then the year 1932 was, ironically, a good one for Zippo.
One more appeal is the fact that George Blaisdell recognized early on the possibility that Zippo could become not only a tool for lighting a cigarette but also a tool for advertising. The first Zippo was introduced in 1932, and in 1936, he started promoting Zippo as an advertising tool. The history of Zippo is also the history of the process technique of creating unusual lighter surfaces. Initially, thin chrome frames were applied directly on the lighter surface. Then, new technology that enabled engraving directly on surfaces was developed, and coloring also became possible. After that, etching and color-fill, and the latest technique, surface-print, was introduced. Zippo is no longer a simple medium of advertising. It has also became representative of art. Colorful artistic Zippo lighters provide peace of mind and sensibility to their owners.
The history of Zippo is a history of a useful mechanical implement. It is also a history of the art of decorating the "blank canvas" of the case surface and of the development of the ideas for the motifs. The moment George Blaisdell hit upon the idea of decorating his lighter with initials, engraved signatures, and graphic designs, the history of Zippo as something more than just a cigarette lighter began. Through George Blaisdell's foresight, the Zippo case became a canvas that could be used as an advertising medium.
Since it was first produced, the basic form of the Zippo lighter has remained essentially unchanged, although there have been some minor modifications. It is truly remarkable that a single product has survived for generations without any radical change in form. The American people's love of basics has sustained the Zippo over the years.
Now, I have a few Zippo lighters. But I want to collect more and become a real, die-hard "Zippo collector" in the future.

COMMENT
My brother said to me, "This is made with Silver. I like this Zippo Lighter very much," and showed his favorite to me. That was the first time when I saw a Zippo Lighter. I also got to like it because of its shape and practicality.
Next year, I gave my father a Zippo Lighter as a birthday present. He was very pleased with it and said he had wanted it very much.
My father often goes fishing. He says, "100-yen-lighters can't work in a river or the seashore, because of high winds, but Zippo Lighters can properly work."

Shizue Masuda