The History of IMCO Lighters
-----This legendary company opened its doors in 1907 as a button factory in Austria founded by Julius Meister! In 1918, their first trench lighters were made from spent artillery shells used in World War I. Now, they are prized by collectors around the world. Known for its wind resistant feature, these lighters became a popular product for the military, then for the smoker and the outdoorsman.
-----Today, IMCO's new lighters, especially their 'collectable series' lighters, are sought after by collectors all over the world. The company has made and sold over 500,000,000 cigarette lighters since that first day!
-----The modern IMCO company has branched out into three basic lighter designs, with many more styles based on those lighters. IMCO lighters are very easy to fill with lighter fluid and have an easily replaceable flint. Some of the unique features of this lighter include: lighting without touching the spark wheel, windscreen, and the ability to remove the lit fuel chamber for lighting cigarettes, pipes, fireplaces, and campfires.
-----For the lighter history buffs, the first true Ronson lighter was the "Banjou Lighter" made and patented in 1926, and the first Zippo lighters were made in 1932 and had patents pending in 1933. This makes IMCO the oldest cigarette lighter company! Yes, Ronson had a lighter in 1913 called the "Wonderlighter", but it was a "Strike" or "Striker Lighter". These were basically a match-like steel post with a metal tip surrounded with cotton which was dipped in it's container of fluid, and then struck on the flint attached to the side of the container. The sparks ignited the match! IMCO is recognized as the first company to truly achieve a more modern cigarette lighter!
