From Döbereiner's Lamp to the iconic Zippo, the journey of lighters through time
We use a lot of devices at our homes on a daily basis without realising their importance or knowing much about their invention, isn’t it? A wonderful example of one such thing is a lighter. Lighters are small hand-held devices, usually made up of metal or plastic, filled with a flammable fluid or pressurised gas. Although lighters are commonly associated with smokers, they can be found in just about any home. How many of you, though, are aware of their history, how they were put to use, and how they got so popular? Let's find out more about this nifty little gadget and its journey through time.
Döbereiner's Lamp
Johann Wolfgang Dobereiner, a renowned German chemist (1780-1849) invented the first lighter in 1823. It was popularly known as Döbereiner's Lamp. This lighter functioned by using flammable hydrogen gas. This gas was created inside the lighter by a chemical reaction. It was then passed through a platinum metal catalyst. This caused the catalyst to catch fire, emitting a lot of heat and light.
The major drawbacks of this device were its large size, the difficulty of usage, and health hazards. It functioned on sulfuric acid, zinc, and hydrogen gas, and that combination was obviously not very safe to carry around. It would spontaneously spark, particularly when left in hot conditions! But surprisingly, the demand for this device continued until the end of the 19th century. It was estimated, that till the end of the century, about 20,000 Döbereiner's Lamps were in use throughout Europe!
Portable lighters
After Döbereiner's Lamp, Carl Auer von Welsbach, an Austrian scientist and inventor (1858-1929) patented ferrocerium (a synthetic alloy) in 1903. This invention gave the birth to today’s small and portable lighters. Numerous manufacturers all over the world began developing their own lighter designs using kerosene, gasoline, and naphtha. The Ronson Company, based in New Jersey, USA, manufactured their well-known classic lighter models ‘Pist-O-Liter’ (1910) and ‘Wonderlite lighters’ (1913) in large numbers.
The first automatic pocket lighter
In 1926, the Ronson Company improved their classic lighter design and created a new version called the ‘Banjo lighter’. This was the world’s first automatic pocket lighter. L.V. Aronson (1869-1940) was an American inventor, industrialist, and the founder of AMW. He designed the banjo lighter and promoted it between 1926 and 1928. These lighters were sold for $5 each and were a tremendous success because of their easy functioning and appealing appearance. They were so easy to use that lighting a flame merely required the push of a button. The banjo lighter was available in limited editions of gold and silver plating as well.
The iconic Zippo lighter
The original Zippo lighter was created by George Blaisdell (born;1895, died;1978) in Bradford, Pennsylvania, in 1932. The lifetime warranty and windproof flame of the Zippo made it far superior to its predecessors and competitors. The sole difference between old and current models lies in the metal that are used. The early models were made of brass. However, but because of metal shortages after World War II, Zippo began to produce them from black crackle steel.
The Zippo lighter also served as one of the symbols of the Vietnam War (1954-1975). They became a symbol of the American military throughout the 20-year Vietnam War. American soldiers serving in Vietnam would frequently have their Zippo lighters imprinted with personal mottos, slogans, icons, and unique designs. These engravings would frequently express the soldiers' feelings, convictions, and values during combat. Vietnam War lighters are now high in demand, with some selling for enormous sums at auctions.