Carbide Cap Lamps/Anthracite Bottom I

Carbide Cap Lamps

Anthracite Bottom I.jpg - ANTHRACITE LOOP & HOOK - Hard to find brass loop and hook lamp known as the anthracite, very likely manufactured by Maple City Mfg. Co. of Monmouth, IL; ca. 1911-12; 3 3/8 in. high to top of screw water door, 1 7/8 in. base dia., raking wire water feed, plain unbanded early base with rolled threads and concave bottom, and a soldered-on 2 1/8 in. reflector without sparker (This lamp is distinguished by a tiny loop in the wire hook that extends slightly above the top of the lamp. Named the barrel lamp by Illinois miners because of its shape and the anthracite lamp by longtime lamp collector George Bayles because he noted a number were found in the anthracite coal fields area of Pennsylvania, it is nearly certain that the unmarked lamp was manufactured by the Maple City Manufacturing Co. of Monmouth, IL. The wide mouth bottom, soldered-on reflector, lack of a striker, and similar size and shape to the small Maple City lamp were distinguishing features that established the Maple City connection. The interchangeable external gasket with Maple City lamps and a nearly identical gas tube arrangement between the lamps further verified the association. Anthracite lamps have two styles of threaded-base inserts, machine cut threads on some and rolled threads on others. Similarly, some lamps had twist ball water feeds while others had simple raking wire water feeds. Lamps are known with later-style banded bottoms as well as early-style unbanded bottoms. As noted by Dave Thorpe, three base style and water feed combinations seem to occur. The first style of a banded base with rolled threads occurs with both twist ball and raking wire water feeds. The second style of a banded base with machine cut threads occurs with only the twist ball feeds. The third and rarest style as shown in the pictured lamp is the plain unbanded base with rolled threads which occurs only with the raking wire feed. It is fairly certain that Maple City manufactured the unmarked anthracite lamps and their own marked lamps concurrently at least during the 1911-12 timeframe. It seems reasonable that the anthracite lamps were made for other retailers but the lack of advertising records combined with the rarity of the lamps leaves this story untold. see Spence and Thorpe, Mining Artifact Collector #9, pp 3-10; Thorpe, Eureka #16, pp 2-4; and Thorpe, Carbide Light – The Last Flame in American Mines, pp 160-64)

Anthracite Bottom I | ANTHRACITE LOOP & HOOK - Hard to find brass loop and hook lamp known as the anthracite, very likely manufactured by Maple City Mfg. Co. of Monmouth, IL; ca. 1911-12; 3 3/8 in. high to top of screw water door, 1 7/8 in. base dia., raking wire water feed, plain unbanded early base with rolled threads and concave bottom, and a soldered-on 2 1/8 in. reflector without sparker (This lamp is distinguished by a tiny loop in the wire hook that extends slightly above the top of the lamp. Named the barrel lamp by Illinois miners because of its shape and the anthracite lamp by longtime lamp collector George Bayles because he noted a number were found in the anthracite coal fields area of Pennsylvania, it is nearly certain that the unmarked lamp was manufactured by the Maple City Manufacturing Co. of Monmouth, IL. The wide mouth bottom, soldered-on reflector, lack of a striker, and similar size and shape to the small Maple City lamp were distinguishing features that established the Maple City connection. The interchangeable external gasket with Maple City lamps and a nearly identical gas tube arrangement between the lamps further verified the association. Anthracite lamps have two styles of threaded-base inserts, machine cut threads on some and rolled threads on others. Similarly, some lamps had twist ball water feeds while others had simple raking wire water feeds. Lamps are known with later-style banded bottoms as well as early-style unbanded bottoms. As noted by Dave Thorpe, three base style and water feed combinations seem to occur. The first style of a banded base with rolled threads occurs with both twist ball and raking wire water feeds. The second style of a banded base with machine cut threads occurs with only the twist ball feeds. The third and rarest style as shown in the pictured lamp is the plain unbanded base with rolled threads which occurs only with the raking wire feed. It is fairly certain that Maple City manufactured the unmarked anthracite lamps and their own marked lamps concurrently at least during the 1911-12 timeframe. It seems reasonable that the anthracite lamps were made for other retailers but the lack of advertising records combined with the rarity of the lamps leaves this story untold. see Spence and Thorpe, Mining Artifact Collector #9, pp 3-10; Thorpe, Eureka #16, pp 2-4; and Thorpe, Carbide Light – The Last Flame in American Mines, pp 160-64)

Original Image

Total images: 779 | Last update: 5/27/20 4:49 PM | Help