Finally got my hands on this Austrian made vintage lighter.
As the story goes, Blaisdell got the idea for the Zippo lighter at the Bradford Country Club when he saw a friend using an Austrian made lighter to light a cigarette. Blaisdell was impressed with the way the lighter maintained its flame in the wind, but was not impressed with the way it looked, or how it operated. It requires the user to use 2 of his hands to operate, one to take off the lid, the other to strike the flint and burn the wick. The Austrian lighter wasn't really appealing and was awkward to use.
When Blaisdell asked his friend why he didn't buy a decent looking lighter, the friend replied:" Well George, it works".
Since that day, Blaisdell worked hard to re-design a lighter which allows the user to use one hand to operate, and at the same time, look appealing to the audience. He then bought over the rights of the Austrian lighter and we have our Zippo as we know it.
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