Oil Company Zippos

 

 

 

 

 

 

See the famous Kendall Oil & Refining Company Zippos  HERE

Many of today's oil companies were created in the late 1900's. John D. Rockefeller created Standard Oil in 1870 which refined almost all US oil in  the 1880''s,  In 1911, Standard Oil was declared an illegal monopoly and split into thirty-four companies such as Esso, which became Exxon, Mobil, Chevron, Atlantic Richfield and Amoco. Texaco Shell, and British Petroleum were also established about that time. As the auto industry exploded, oil companies did too and by 1946 oil replaced coal as the world's most popular energy source. 

Oil companies were early adopters of use the Zippo.  Kendall Oil & Refining Company from Bradford Pennsylvania was the very first advertising customer for Zippo in 1936.  While the Zippo case with the inside hinge was also introduced in 1936, early Kendall as well as the Gulf advertising Zippo shown below are earlier, highly collectible "outside hinge" models. 

This Zippo with the Gulf metallique logo and square case with lines is a very early 1935-36 major brand advertiser.  Note that the hinge is on the outside as all Zippos were made until 1936. 

Here is a  more recent Gulf Zippo from 1953.