Carbide Cap Lamps/Jiffy Platypus Back

Carbide Cap Lamps

Jiffy Platypus Back.JPG - JUSTRITE JIFFY PLATYPUS - Brass Justrite Jiffy lamp, 2 1/4 in. reflector, Spiral feed, metal screen felt retainer, beaded base, with 1901, 1912 and 1913 patent dates on side, fancy marking on base JUSTRITE MFG. CO. JIFFY CONTAINER PAT APLD FOR; ex- Neil Tysver collection (The Jiffy container was an innovation by Justrite to remove the base without using screw threads. Termed the helix lock, the bottom could be removed by a half turn thus avoiding the corrosion experienced with threaded bases. The lamp was advertised by Justrite as early as 1916 and was marketed through 1919. When chief Justrite designer Augie Hansen left the company in 1920, the Jiffy was no longer advertised in the Justrite catalogs. However, Jiffy lamps were still being sold in different variations at least through 1922. Since the bottom must be removed to see the helix lock attachment, Jiffy lamps look very similar to other Justrite lamps. Since they were apparently not a successful product with the mining community, the limited production numbers coupled with the fancy Jiffy stamping on the bottom of the base make them highly sought by collectors. Several variations of the Jiffy lamp are known. Three different water feed options – the Spiral Feed as shown here, the Duplex Feed, and the Polygon Feed – were included. An interesting variation and likely the earliest for the Jiffy lamp (never advertised by Justrite) included a spiral water feed with an inverted-cone flared end on the water tube and a Jiffy container as shown here. This extremely rare variation has been nicknamed “the platypus” by the collecting community. The lamp follows exactly the Jiffy lamp patent filed on Aug. 28, 1916 and awarded to Augie L. Hansen on May 1, 1917 as letters patent 1,224,537. Hansen assigned the patent to his employer Justrite Manufacturing Company of Chicago. As shown in the pics, the flared water tube is unique as is the perforated metal screen felt retainer which was limited only to the early Jiffy lamps. Five examples of the platypus variation are known in private collections. See Thorpe, Eureka #33, pp 10-15 and Carbide Light, pp 132-133)

Jiffy Platypus Back | JUSTRITE JIFFY PLATYPUS - Brass Justrite Jiffy lamp, 2 1/4 in. reflector, Spiral feed, metal screen felt retainer, beaded base, with 1901, 1912 and 1913 patent dates on side, fancy marking on base JUSTRITE MFG. CO. JIFFY CONTAINER PAT APLD FOR; ex- Neil Tysver collection (The Jiffy container was an innovation by Justrite to remove the base without using screw threads. Termed the helix lock, the bottom could be removed by a half turn thus avoiding the corrosion experienced with threaded bases. The lamp was advertised by Justrite as early as 1916 and was marketed through 1919. When chief Justrite designer Augie Hansen left the company in 1920, the Jiffy was no longer advertised in the Justrite catalogs. However, Jiffy lamps were still being sold in different variations at least through 1922. Since the bottom must be removed to see the helix lock attachment, Jiffy lamps look very similar to other Justrite lamps. Since they were apparently not a successful product with the mining community, the limited production numbers coupled with the fancy Jiffy stamping on the bottom of the base make them highly sought by collectors. Several variations of the Jiffy lamp are known. Three different water feed options – the Spiral Feed as shown here, the Duplex Feed, and the Polygon Feed – were included. An interesting variation and likely the earliest for the Jiffy lamp (never advertised by Justrite) included a spiral water feed with an inverted-cone flared end on the water tube and a Jiffy container as shown here. This extremely rare variation has been nicknamed “the platypus” by the collecting community. The lamp follows exactly the Jiffy lamp patent filed on Aug. 28, 1916 and awarded to Augie L. Hansen on May 1, 1917 as letters patent 1,224,537. Hansen assigned the patent to his employer Justrite Manufacturing Company of Chicago. As shown in the pics, the flared water tube is unique as is the perforated metal screen felt retainer which was limited only to the early Jiffy lamps. Five examples of the platypus variation are known in private collections. See Thorpe, Eureka #33, pp 10-15 and Carbide Light, pp 132-133)

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