Brand New Collectible 2003 American Zippo “Wright Brothers” Pocket Lighter Complete With Original Box & Instructions.

In perfect order. Please browse all 12 sets of photographs attached for full details as they are self explanatory.

The Wright brothers Orville (August 19, 1871 – January 30, 1948) and Wilbur (April 16, 1867 – May 30, 1912) were two American aviation pioneers credited with inventing, building, and flying the world's first successful motor operated airplane. They made the first controlled, sustained flight of a powered, heavier-than-air aircraft with the Wright Flyer on December 17, 1903, 4 mi (6 km) south of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. In 1904–05, the brothers developed their flying machine to make longer running and more aerodynamic flights with the Wright Flyer II, followed by the first truly practical fixed-wing aircraft, the Wright Flyer III. The Wright brothers were also the first to invent aircraft controls that made fixed-wing powered flight possible.

The brothers' breakthrough was their creation of a three-axis control system, which enabled the pilot to steer the aircraft effectively and to maintain its equilibrium. This method remains standard on fixed-wing aircraft of all kinds to the present day.

The Wright brothers were two of seven children born to Milton Wright (1828–1917), of English and Dutch ancestry, and Susan Catherine Koerner (1831–1889), of German and Swiss ancestry. The brothers never married. The direct paternal ancestry goes back to a Samuel Wright (b. 1606 in Essex, England) who sailed to America and settled in Massachusetts in 1636.

Because of their father's position as a bishop in the Church he traveled often and the Wrights frequently moved—twelve times before finally returning permanently to Dayton in 1884. In elementary school, Orville was given to mischief and was once expelled. In 1878 when the family lived in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, their father brought them home a toy helicopter made of paper, bamboo and cork with a rubber band to twirl its rotor. Wilbur and Orville played with it until it broke, and then built their own. In later years, they pointed to their experience with the toy as the spark of their interest in flying. Both brothers attended high school, but never received diplomas!

A Zippo lighter is a reusable metal lighter manufactured by American Zippo Manufacturing Company of Bradford, Pennsylvania, United States of America. Thousands of different styles and designs have been made in the eight decades since their introduction including military versions for specific regiments. Since its invention, Zippos have been sold around the world and have been described "a legendary and distinct symbol of America". In 2012 the company produced the 500-millionth unit. Since its inception Zippo Lighters have been almost exclusively manufactured in the United States, with the exception of an operation it ran in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada from 1949 until 2002.

All Zippo windproof lighters carry an unlimited lifetime guarantee, promoted using the trademarked phrase "It works or we fix it for free." The corporate web site boasts: "in almost 75 years, no one has ever spent a cent on the mechanical repair of a Zippo lighter regardless of the lighter’s age or condition."

American George G. Blaisdell founded Zippo Manufacturing Company in 1932, and produced the first Zippo lighter in early 1933, being inspired by an Austrian cigarette lighter of similar design made by IMCO. It got its name because Blaisdell liked the sound of the word "zipper" and "zippo" sounded more modern. On March 3, 1936, the U.S. Patent Office granted a patent for the Zippo lighter.

Zippo lighters became popular in the United States military, especially during World War II—when Zippo ceased production of lighters for consumer markets and dedicated all manufacturing to the US military". Soldiers and armed forces personnel insisted that stores carry this sought-after lighter. While it had previously been common to have Zippos with authorized badges, unit crests, and division insignias, it became popular among the American soldiers of the Vietnam War to get their Zippos engraved with personal mottos. These lighters are now sought-after collector's items and popular souvenirs for visitors to Vietnam.

After World War II, the Zippo lighter became increasingly used in advertising by companies large and small through the 1960s. Much of the early Zippo lighter advertising are works of art painted by hand, and as technology has evolved, so has the design and finish of the Zippo lighter. The basic mechanism of the Zippo lighter has remained unchanged, but they developed into a popular fashion accessory, with a huge variety of artistic designs produced.

On June 5, 2012, the company manufactured its 500,000,000th lighter and celebrated its 80th anniversary. In 2018, Zippo announced the sound trademark of its windproof lighter, making the Zippo lighter’s click officially one of the most recognised sounds in the world.

A Zippo lighter has a key role in an episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents (aired on January 3, 1960). The 1959-1960, Season 5, Episode 15 is entitled "Man from the South", starring Steve McQueen, Peter Lorre, and Neile Adams. McQueen's character portrays a down-and-out small-time gambler in Las Vegas, who accepts a bet for a convertible automobile from Lorre's character 'Carlos'. Betting that his Zippo lighter will light ten times in a row, or he will lose his little finger to Carlos's borrowed kitchen meat cleaver. The Zippo had worked seven times when Carlos's wife rushes in and stops the proceedings, explaining that Carlos is 'insane' and owns nothing to bet on, it is all hers now. McQueen's character then offers a light to a woman acquaintance who has been present (Neile Adams, McQueen's actual wife). The lighter failed on this eighth try.

In the popular television series Supernatural the protagonist brothers Sam and Dean often must set fire to long-dead human remains, in order to end the existence of the ghost or other spirit formed from the soul of the previous inhabitant of the body. As a Zippo lighter is one of the few lighters that will remain burning without holding down a button or lever, it is common for a slow motion image of an open Zippo lighter, in flames, tumbling into an opened grave or crypt, to be used as cinematographic symbol of the brothers' (usually) successful terminaton of a supernatural threat's existence. Conversely, the cinematographic use of any ignition method other than a Zippo lighter is a visual cue to the audience of some major difference, which may or may not be known to the protagonists.

Zippo lighters are highly collectible. A 1933 model was purchased for $18,000 at a swap meet in Tokyo, and in 2002 the company bought one valued at $12,000 for its own collection. During the 75th anniversary celebrations in 2007, Zippo sold a near mint 1933 model for just over $37000!