Carbide Cap Lamps/Justrite Brass Pit Lamp Back

Carbide Cap Lamps

Justrite Brass Pit Lamp Back.JPG - JUSTRITE NO. 99 BRASS - Brass Justrite “Miners Pit Lamp,” early model No. 99 with wire feed,oval water door, smooth bottom, ceramic burner tip and 2 in. fixed reflector, marked JUSTRITE PAT. DEC. 17, 1901 PAT. MAY 7, 1912 OTHERS PENDING on side, ex-Tony Moon collection (The Justrite Manufacturing Co. of Chicago, Illinois was formed in 1906 as an industrial fabricating company making special machinery and tools. With Frederick J. Becker as president, Justrite would become the most prolific manufacturer of carbide lamps for underground use and a name synonymous with the carbide lamp. In 1911, Becker realized the potential market for carbide mining lamps and supplies and along with his chief designer August L. "Augie" Hansen, they created a product name with one of the top reputations in carbide lamps. The first lamps manufactured and advertised by Justrite in their first known advertisements of 1912 were the No. 99 horizontal, wire feed brass cap lamp shown in this photo and priced at one dollar with nickel plating at a dollar and a quarter, the No. 100 superintendent's lamp priced at a dollar and a half with nickel plating extra, and the rare No. 77 stick lamp priced at two dollars and 50 cents. The patent dates stamped on the side of the No. 99 and No. 100 lamps refer to a pre-Justrite carriage lamp patent for a concentric reflector and burner tube by Alvin L. Buffington of Minneapolis (#686,926 awarded on Dec. 17, 1901) and an early patent by Augie Hansen for an ornamental design of an acetylene lamp (#42,460 awarded May 7, 1912). Very early Justrite 99 and 100 lamps are simply marked Pat. Apld. For on the side. These lamps have simple lines devoid of decorations, indentations, or ridges with a minimum of design niceties. Justrite continued to expand the product line and their facilities and by 1919, they employed 350 employess and manufactured 42 distinct types of carbide lamps. Over the history of Justrite production from 1912 to 1931(catalogs 1 through 10A), at least 154 different lamp model numbers and at least 246 part numbers for a total of at least 400 number identifications were used by Justrite. However, a number of lamps, older versus newer, and parts used the same numbers so the whole identification matrix is ingrained with confusion. Nevertheless, it is very clear that Justrite provided more carbide lamps over a longer period of time than any other U.S. manufacturer. See Pohs, Miner's Flame Light Book, pp 435-462)

Justrite Brass Pit Lamp Back | JUSTRITE NO. 99 BRASS - Brass Justrite “Miners Pit Lamp,” early model No. 99 with wire feed, oval water door, smooth bottom, ceramic burner tip and 2 in. fixed reflector, marked JUSTRITE PAT. DEC. 17, 1901 PAT. MAY 7, 1912 OTHERS PENDING on side, ex-Tony Moon collection (The Justrite Manufacturing Co. of Chicago, Illinois was formed in 1906 as an industrial fabricating company making special machinery and tools. With Frederick J. Becker as president, Justrite would become the most prolific manufacturer of carbide lamps for underground use and a name synonymous with the carbide lamp. In 1911, Becker realized the potential market for carbide mining lamps and supplies and along with his chief designer August L. "Augie" Hansen, they created a product name with one of the top reputations in carbide lamps. The first lamps manufactured and advertised by Justrite in their first known advertisements of 1912 were the No. 99 horizontal, wire feed brass cap lamp shown in this photo and priced at one dollar with nickel plating at a dollar and a quarter, the No. 100 superintendent's lamp priced at a dollar and a half with nickel plating extra, and the rare No. 77 stick lamp priced at two dollars and 50 cents. The patent dates stamped on the side of the No. 99 and No. 100 lamps refer to a pre-Justrite carriage lamp patent for a concentric reflector and burner tube by Alvin L. Buffington of Minneapolis (#686,926 awarded on Dec. 17, 1901) and an early patent by Augie Hansen for an ornamental design of an acetylene lamp (#42,460 awarded May 7, 1912). Very early Justrite 99 and 100 lamps are simply marked Pat. Apld. For on the side. These lamps have simple lines devoid of decorations, indentations, or ridges with a minimum of design niceties. Justrite continued to expand the product line and their facilities and by 1919, they employed 350 employess and manufactured 42 distinct types of carbide lamps. Over the history of Justrite production from 1912 to 1931(catalogs 1 through 10A), at least 154 different lamp model numbers and at least 246 part numbers for a total of at least 400 number identifications were used by Justrite. However, a number of lamps, older versus newer, and parts used the same numbers so the whole identification matrix is ingrained with confusion. Nevertheless, it is very clear that Justrite provided more carbide lamps over a longer period of time than any other U.S. manufacturer. See Pohs, Miner's Flame Light Book, pp 435-462)

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