Does anyone know anything about Penguin lighters? One type looks like Zippos, but were made in Japan. They seemed to be popular in the '60s. The non-Zippo type, the kind with the ellipsoid bodies and the mechanism on top like these, seem often to advertise a particular brand of cigarettes. The Zippo-style ones do as well. (Example. – do they still make Lucky Strike cigarettes?) Browsing, I see many with military insignias on them; which would make sense for a Japanese brand in the '60s.
Zippo and Ronson have their own Wikipedia pages; but I’m not finding anything on Penguin. Was there a Penguin company? Or was it a brand by a manufacturer with another name? When were they made? Did the cigarette companies pay them to use their logos? Or was it the other way round? Whatever happened to them?
If you and Mr. Penguin were in your rowboat and you didn’t have a match for your ciggie, you’d throw the bird overboard and your boat becomes a penguin lighter.
If memory serves me right Penguin may have been the name of the advertising item manufacturing company/branding company. I remember not just the lighters but other smoking related items carrying that name like cigarette cases and possibly ashtrays. Many were advertising but not all.
