Zippo with Camel advertising before the birth of Joe Camel in 1987 are rare, if any.
If you find any, they are mostly produced at a later date as memorabilia.
Enter Joe and there were constantly new designs released until his "death" on 12th July 1997.
R.J. Reynolds kept issuing Zippo lighters but now with more subtle Camel connections.
Some came in collector tins, others in the regular Zippo cardboard box. Some sold through Zippo dealers, others only available for "Camel Cash" through the annual Camel merch catalog.
From 1994 to 1997 Camel was a team sponsor in NASCAR, and #23 became known as "Smokin' Joe Racing". Advertising items are abundant, including an extensive number of Zippo.
There are occational re-issues of both Joe Camel and Smokin' Joe dated long after he was "banned" in 1997 and the NASCAR team sponsorship was cancelled.
Smokin' Joe Racing
Joe Camel
General Camel
Gift Boxes & Collector Tins
Table lighter
The first Zippo table lighter was produced in 1949-1951 and nicknamed "Lady Bradford" after the town where it was produced.
For the 65th anniversary in 1997 this got a slight redesign and became known as the "Lady Barbara".
It was issued in two versions, one plain and one with the 65th logo. Then later in the year in a 3rd half height version with the Camel logo.
The same logo is impressed on the lighter case and as an attached badge on the holder.
The pewter base give the lighter more weight and it stands pretty stable compared to just a bare Zippo. It originally came in a silver gift box, mine is used and came without, showing some signs of wear.
