Let's see them Kerosene lamps!

[Forgotten Man]

Yes, mine is the streamlined Monarch, introduced in '36 and was made into the 60s I believe, after Dietz pulled up roots and high tailed it to China. :eusa_doh:

The late 1800's and early 1900's Dietz had very sharp pointed corners on their hot-blast's. I'm looking for one of them in a reasonable price range. Most of them are very high in price.

 

[jamespowers]

Yes, mine is the streamlined Monarch, introduced in '36 and was made into the 60s I believe, after Dietz pulled up roots and high tailed it to China. :eusa_doh:

The late 1800's and early 1900's Dietz had very sharp pointed corners on their hot-blast's. I'm looking for one of them in a reasonable price range. Most of them are very high in price.

Dietz produced its last American made lanterns in 1956.
How reasonable is reasonable?
This looks pretty good:

$50 though and not a hot blast lantern. [huh]

 

[carouselvic]

bracket lamp w/reflector

 

[PADDY]

Tilley Lamps.

I have a couple of old brass Tilley Lamps that work on a pressure system where you pump up the kerosene with a little hand pump, then release slightly and light the mantle (the fragile netting that lights up). Great for evening barbies and when the electricity goes down.
I also like the fact that you can buy all the parts as spares to keep it going a lifetime. It really is 'old time' camping!!

 

[carouselvic]

Aladdin Tall Lincoln Drape 1940-1949

Ivory Alacite Art Glass

 

[carouselvic]

Aladdin Model 12 1928-1935

 

[carouselvic]

Aladdin Washington Drape 1939

As electricity spread to the rural areas the Mantle Lamp Company promoted their inexpensive Aladdin Converter. This device easily inserted into the central air tube, quickly converting the Aladdin to use electricity without sacrificing its capacity to burn kerosene.

 

[Forgotten Man]

Very interesting, that's a unique lamp and even more interesting info on it as well!

Some I speak with regarding the 30s and 40s some are surprised to find out that there were still plenty of people who didn't have electricity in farming areas outside the city at that time. In fact, when the radio started to enter the home, battery operated sets were the first type of radio receivers to be sold. It wasn't till 1928 when Atwater Kent offered an AC/DC radio.

I've seen so many gas/kerosene lamps from the turn of the century that have been converted to electric... either country styled restaurants or for theme parks... but, when I find one that still has it's original wick and the tank cap isn't rusted closed, I'll buy it and fill it some and light that old wick and watch it crackle and come back to life; it's fun!

 

[John in Covina]

I have a small RR type lantern out on the back porch. Somewhere in the basement of the hous my parents owned is a glass base lamp my parents refered to as a hurricane lantern or lamp. Electricity out from a storm, no problem same thing they had a portable propane stove that would come out for cooking if the electricity was out. (we had an electric stove.)

 

[carouselvic]

Pair of brass round wick founts

 

[Big Man]

This is my Grandmother's old milking lantern. It is marked "Paull's No. 230". From what I could tell, this old lantern was made around 1920. It hung on a nail in the basement for as long as I can remember. Everything on the old lantern still works, and it even has an old wick.

 

[Big Man]

There are four of these kerosene lamps at the old house. These are the same lamps that my grandparents used for light before they got electricity in 1930. I would guess that they had them since they began housekeeping in 1904.

I recall when the power would go out in the winter, that my Grandmother would get one of the old lanterns out and use it for light. Also, when it got bitter cold in the winter she would keep one lit in the bathroom (the bathroom is on the back porch) to help keep the pipes from freezing.

 

[Forgotten Man]

This is my Grandmother's old milking lantern. It is marked "Paull's No. 230". From what I could tell, this old lantern was made around 1920. It hung on a nail in the basement for as long as I can remember. Everything on the old lantern still works, and it even has an old wick.

Yep, they work great! Even if they look like that! I find most of mine have old wicks! And why wouldn't they work? You know, they don't really burn down... they mostly burn the kerosene that's in the wick! So, the wick it's self will last for a very long time.

I like that lantern, I can sure see that thing hanging on a nain in a barn or a basement! Just wonderful! Never clean it up! Leave it just like that! Perfect!

 

[Big Man]

When I started housekeeping back in 1976, we moved into a one room cabin that I built ("back to the land" kind of living was big at that time). We didn't have electricity or running water for the first two years, and relied on an old kerosene lamp and an old lantern for light. Even after our house grew to four rooms we got electricity, we still used kerosene lamps a lot. I still have a number of them around. They are good to have in the event the power goes off during a storm.

 

[Forgotten Man]

Oh wow, you just reminded me of a book my folks had I used to look at called "Back To Basics" and it was popular in the 70s... I used to sit on the floor and check out the list of old wood burning stoves, I was very interested in the pot bellied stove... now I own one! lol Got it at age 11!

Yeah, it's good to have these old lamps on hand in case the power goes out... sometimes I hope it would go out so I can use them! Nothing like a cold windy night, rain and lightning... and then the power goes out, looking around in the dark for matches and then lighting that old lamp... the smell of a burned match and soon burning kerosene... ahhhhhh, what a smell that is!

 

[jamespowers]

This is my Grandmother's old milking lantern. It is marked "Paull's No. 230". From what I could tell, this old lantern was made around 1920. It hung on a nail in the basement for as long as I can remember. Everything on the old lantern still works, and it even has an old wick.

Love the No. 230! I have one as well. They do a fine job of lighting for an 8 candle power lantern.
With old wicks, I kind of think of them more like filters than wicks. They filter out crud that is not only in the kerosene but in the tank. I usually wash mine if they are old and stiff. It softens them up and makes them more absorbent---thus burning the kersosene more efficiently through capillary wicking action.

 

[RetroToday]

Cool thread,

I was given this figural oil lamp a while back, not sure if it used kerosene or not. Guessing it's from the 1890s, but they made this style of lamp for many years.
Would it be considered a banquet lamp? I thank you in advance for any help or shared knowledge about this.

The burner and clear glass chimney are old, but not original to the lamp, I added those.

Was given the cranberry glass shade along with it, don't know if it's original to the lamp.

I placed the shade on it to see if it looked reasonably well. If it is the correct shade, it needs a proper burner attachment ring to raise it up off the reservoir.

The base appears to be concrete covered in black laquer.

The cast metal boy and dog were covered in a layer of gold that has seen better days. However, I like the worn look.

 

[John in Covina]

The operating design is kerosene type. There is a place for the wick and the nob to adjust the height. Here you can use kerosene or lamp oil and there are outdoors versions that have a little citronella to keep the bugs away that will also work. The outdoors stuff is used in Tiki Torches.

 

[RetroToday]

The operating design is kerosene type. There is a place for the wick and the nob to adjust the height. Here you can use kerosene or lamp oil and there are outdoors versions that have a little citronella to keep the bugs away that will also work. The outdoors stuff is used in Tiki Torches.

Hi John, thanks.

I added the burner and chimney in the above photos, which is why I wasn't sure of the original way it was used.
The burner threaded in perfectly so it was probably the same configuration, as far as I know.

 

[carouselvic]

Hi John, thanks.

I added the burner and chimney in the above photos, which is why I wasn't sure of the original way it was used.
The burner threaded in perfectly so it was probably the same configuration, as far as I know.

There are volumes of books available on this subject. My copy of Oil Lamps has been swiped, so I can't reference your lamp, but as a lamp collector for the last thirty+ years I can tell you a few things. Your red shade is not cranberry glass, just red glass. A lamp shade would never obstruct the thumb screw for the wick riser. The burner you put on it is a basic #2, but there are a lot of accessories that would have been available to accommodate various shade types if desired. Hope this helps.