I found this really cool book the other day that I thought you might find interesting. I have always liked vintage things, from cars, to simpler things like old wooden flooring in houses and not the plastic fantastic that we find in todays houses. My favourite is obviously vintage denim, because it always tells a story.

Anyway I don’t smoke but have always had a mild fascination with Zippo lighters. There is something about them that makes me want to carry one around all day with me! Then I found these pictures of Zippos in a book called Vietnam Zippos: American Soldiers Engravings and Stories.

It’s a photo collection, including stories, of the Zippo lighters that American soldiers used at the height of the Vietnam conflict between 1965 and 1973.

Some of the engravings include:

“Give me head til I’m dead”

“Death is my business and business has been good”

“When I die bury me face down so the whole world can kiss my ass”

Simple photos of Zippo lighters have turned out to be some of the most powerful images I have ever seen. Just like at accident scenes, photograpahers will show photos of someones shoe lying in the road, and these photos carry the same power.They are pieces of lives gone by, war, conflict, hatred and bloodshed. Check out some of these photos. Awesome.

“Thoe I walk through the valley in the shadow of death I fear no evil for I am the meanist mother fucker in the valley”

“35 kills if you are recovering my body fuck you”

“I screwed you”

I think that is some really cool stuff right there, each Zippo telling a story. And the quality of the engraving is also quite something, considering these guys did all of that out in the field. Those Zippos must have seen some crazy stuff!

Buy the book over HERE

Sean Lloyd

Editor