Carbide Cap Lamps/Shanklin Guy's Dropper 6 Date

Carbide Cap Lamps

Shanklin Guy's Dropper 6 Date.JPG - SHANKLIN GUY'S DROPPER 6 DATE CORRUGATED BASE - Shanklin Guys Dropper lamp, 6 date model with corrugated base and knurled band, marked on bottom MANUF’D BY SHANKLIN MFG. CO. SPRINGFIELD ILL, U.S.A. marked on top GUYS DROPPER with 6 patent dates from 1912 to 1925, with hook and cap braces (The Shanklin Manufacturing Co. of Springfield, IL was a prominent producer of miner's carbide lamps with its famous "Guy's Dropper" carbide cap lamp. Designed by Frank Guy, he obtained his first patent in 1910 (#974,054 of Oct. 25, 1910) and two additional patents (#1,097,716 of May 26, 1914 and #1,198,537 of Sept. 19, 1916) while developing a business arrangement with brothers George and Edgar Shanklin to manufacture the lamps. In 1913, the brothers formed the Shanklin Manufacturing Co. to mass produce the Guy's Dropper lamp. The war years of 1917-18 substantially increased the demand for carbide lamps as the need for coal and minerals peaked. The Guy's Dropper benefited with this demand with increased production of both the cap and hand lamps. As with other carbide lamp manufacturers, the 1920s brought a decline in the demand for acetylene lamps and problems for the Shanklin company. In 1932, the Shanklin Manufacturing Co. was sold to the Universal Lamp Co. where the Guy's Dropper continued in production as a best-selling Universal product until the company ceased manufacturing carbide lamps in 1960. The six-date lamp shown here was produced before the sale to Universal. Sometime after 1926, the top stamping was changed from the 2-date marking shown elsewhere in my lamp pics to the 6-date marking shown here. As Dave Thorpe notes, the first of the dates, May 2, 1912, is not valid. The second and third are Frank Guy's patents marked on the 2-date lamps. The fourth date refers to a George Shanklin patent for a protective tip shroud (#1,357,596 awarded Nov. 2, 1920). The fifth date pertains to the new clip-in cap brace (#1,525,579 awarded to G. W. Frost, et al on Feb. 10, 1925) while the sixth covers William Shanklin's corrugated base design (#67,589 awarded July 21, 1925). See Clemmer, American Miner's Carbide Lamps, pp 85-88 and Thorpe, Carbide Light, pp 100-104)

Shanklin Guy's Dropper 6 Date | SHANKLIN GUY'S DROPPER 6 DATE CORRUGATED BASE - Shanklin Guys Dropper lamp, 6 date model with corrugated base and knurled band, marked on bottom MANUF’D BY SHANKLIN MFG. CO. SPRINGFIELD ILL, U.S.A. marked on top GUYS DROPPER with 6 patent dates from 1912 to 1925, with hook and cap braces (The Shanklin Manufacturing Co. of Springfield, IL was a prominent producer of miner's carbide lamps with its famous "Guy's Dropper" carbide cap lamp. Designed by Frank Guy, he obtained his first patent in 1910 (#974,054 of Oct. 25, 1910) and two additional patents (#1,097,716 of May 26, 1914 and #1,198,537 of Sept. 19, 1916) while developing a business arrangement with brothers George and Edgar Shanklin to manufacture the lamps. In 1913, the brothers formed the Shanklin Manufacturing Co. to mass produce the Guy's Dropper lamp. The war years of 1917-18 substantially increased the demand for carbide lamps as the need for coal and minerals peaked. The Guy's Dropper benefited with this demand with increased production of both the cap and hand lamps. As with other carbide lamp manufacturers, the 1920s brought a decline in the demand for acetylene lamps and problems for the Shanklin company. In 1932, the Shanklin Manufacturing Co. was sold to the Universal Lamp Co. where the Guy's Dropper continued in production as a best-selling Universal product until the company ceased manufacturing carbide lamps in 1960. The six-date lamp shown here was produced before the sale to Universal. Sometime after 1926, the top stamping was changed from the 2-date marking shown elsewhere in my lamp pics to the 6-date marking shown here. As Dave Thorpe notes, the first of the dates, May 2, 1912, is not valid. The second and third are Frank Guy's patents marked on the 2-date lamps. The fourth date refers to a George Shanklin patent for a protective tip shroud (#1,357,596 awarded Nov. 2, 1920). The fifth date pertains to the new clip-in cap brace (#1,525,579 awarded to G. W. Frost, et al on Feb. 10, 1925) while the sixth covers William Shanklin's corrugated base design (#67,589 awarded July 21, 1925). See Clemmer, American Miner's Carbide Lamps, pp 85-88 and Thorpe, Carbide Light, pp 100-104)

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