Carbide Hand Lamps/Big Boy Brass Back

Carbide Hand Lamps

Big Boy Brass Back.jpg - BIG BOY BRASS - Brass BIG BOY hand lamp by Universal Lamp Co., Springfield, ILL.;aluminum reflector with double strikers, steel band for bail and hook, ex-Steve Lindberg collection (The distinctive shape of Auto-Lite lamps with the concave, urn-shaped top remained fairly constant over the life of the lamp's production. The Universal Lamp Company was organized in 1913 by Jacob S. Sherman to produce his Auto-Lite carbide lamps. Sherman first lamp patent was filed in 1914 and awarded as #1,167,942 on Jan. 11, 1916 that would identify the pronounced crown top and concave, urn-shaped design of all Auto-Lite lamp tops for the length of manufacture. By 1918, Sherman had moved the company from Staunton, IL to Chicago. The company continued to expand its product line and in 1932, it purchased the Shanklin Manufacturing Co. and its Springfield, IL plant. An integration of the Auto-Lite and Guy's Dropper lamp design features soon followed. Universal continued to manufacture carbide lamps at the Springfield plant until 1960 when the carbide lamp products were discontinued. The company moved to Murfreesboro, TN and is now known as the Park-Sherman Co. During the 1913-1960 span of Auto-Lite's cap lamp life, the company produced at least six top design styles, four bottom styles, six cap mounting hooks, three water valve variations, three different water doors, two gas tube variations, at least nine top markings, and at least seven different bottom markings. That's a lot of combinations for a cap lamp that maintained its distinctive looks over those 47 years. Although they produced mainly cap lamps, Universal did manufacture an 8-hour hand lamp marked Big Boy as shown here in combinations of brass and steel and with two different bail designs. Originally manufactured in the early 1930s after Universal purchased the Shanklin Mfg. Co., these hand lamps were initially marked Guy's Dropper on top. Eventually the name was changed to Big Boy, but advertising as late as 1958 continued to refer to these lamps as Guy's Dropper Big Boy superintendents' lamps. The Springfield plant of Universal Lamp Co. has claimed that it produced over 9,000,000 carbide lamps during its operations! See Pohs, Miner's Flame Light Book, pp 499-506 and Thorpe, Carbide Light, p 107)

Big Boy Brass Back | BIG BOY BRASS - Brass BIG BOY hand lamp by Universal Lamp Co., Springfield, ILL.; aluminum reflector with double strikers, steel band for bail and hook, ex-Steve Lindberg collection (The distinctive shape of Auto-Lite lamps with the concave, urn-shaped top remained fairly constant over the life of the lamp's production. The Universal Lamp Company was organized in 1913 by Jacob S. Sherman to produce his Auto-Lite carbide lamps. Sherman first lamp patent was filed in 1914 and awarded as #1,167,942 on Jan. 11, 1916 that would identify the pronounced crown top and concave, urn-shaped design of all Auto-Lite lamp tops for the length of manufacture. By 1918, Sherman had moved the company from Staunton, IL to Chicago. The company continued to expand its product line and in 1932, it purchased the Shanklin Manufacturing Co. and its Springfield, IL plant. An integration of the Auto-Lite and Guy's Dropper lamp design features soon followed. Universal continued to manufacture carbide lamps at the Springfield plant until 1960 when the carbide lamp products were discontinued. The company moved to Murfreesboro, TN and is now known as the Park-Sherman Co. During the 1913-1960 span of Auto-Lite's cap lamp life, the company produced at least six top design styles, four bottom styles, six cap mounting hooks, three water valve variations, three different water doors, two gas tube variations, at least nine top markings, and at least seven different bottom markings. That's a lot of combinations for a cap lamp that maintained its distinctive looks over those 47 years. Although they produced mainly cap lamps, Universal did manufacture an 8-hour hand lamp marked Big Boy as shown here in combinations of brass and steel and with two different bail designs. Originally manufactured in the early 1930s after Universal purchased the Shanklin Mfg. Co., these hand lamps were initially marked Guy's Dropper on top. Eventually the name was changed to Big Boy, but advertising as late as 1958 continued to refer to these lamps as Guy's Dropper Big Boy superintendents' lamps. The Springfield plant of Universal Lamp Co. has claimed that it produced over 9,000,000 carbide lamps during its operations! See Pohs, Miner's Flame Light Book, pp 499-506 and Thorpe, Carbide Light, p 107)

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