Oilwick Lamps/Anton Lamp Wicks Top

Oilwick Lamps

Anton Lamp Wicks Top.JPG - FREDERICK ANTON PATENT WICKS - Cardboard box of one dozen (in red printing) ANTON’S MINERS’ PATENT LAMP WICKS MANUFACTURED ONLY BY F. M. ANTON & CO MONONGAHELA CITY, PAPATD. JULY 8th 1890, box length 7 5/8 in. x 2 in. wide x 7/8 in. thick with additional writing on both sides and the bottom, NOS condition (Arguably the Antons of Monongahela, PA were the premier wick lamp makers in the U. S.; in 1874, brothers George, John and Christopher each set up workshops to manufacture wick lamps for local PA coal miners. Another Anton, Frederick M. Anton, and presumed to be another brother got in on the action by patenting a miner’s lamp wick, filed on February 20, 1890. Until this time, wicks were sold in long pieces to allow several lengths of wick to be cut. It was up to the miner to insert the wick in the lamp in an oftentimes tedious and difficult process. If the wick became tightly plaited, woven or twisted in the process, the flow of oil along the strands became problematic. The Frederick Anton patent, issued on July 8, 1890 as No. 431,733, claimed to improve this process by providing a precut length of wick with continuous strands, sized to provide an uncompressed fit in the lamp’s spout thereby avoiding twisting, and tied at one end in such a way with loose ties to greatly simplify inserting the wick in the lamp. As described in the patent claim, “in introducing this wick into the wick-tube, the loose ends of the cord are placed in the lamp and then by a strong puff of breath, they are blown out through the tube where they may be grasped to draw the wick into place, after which the cord is removed thereby freeing the upper ends of the strands.” The wicks were designed especially for miners’ lamps which used lard oil and other animal oils. Twisted, tightly woven wicks were already suitable for lamps using lighter mineral and vegetable oils. Note that the patent predates the use of Sunshine paraffin based fuels. It’s also interesting to note that a patent was issued to George Anton for a miners’ lamp improvement (see G. Anton patent elsewhere in my oil wick pics) on the exact same date as Frederick Anton’s patent. Both patents not only used the same patent attorneys but also the same witnesses.)

Anton Lamp Wicks Top | FREDERICK ANTON PATENT WICKS - Cardboard box of one dozen (in red printing) ANTON’S MINERS’ PATENT LAMP WICKS MANUFACTURED ONLY BY F. M. ANTON & CO MONONGAHELA CITY, PA PATD. JULY 8th 1890, box length 7 5/8 in. x 2 in. wide x 7/8 in. thick with additional writing on both sides and the bottom, NOS condition (Arguably the Antons of Monongahela, PA were the premier wick lamp makers in the U. S.; in 1874, brothers George, John and Christopher each set up workshops to manufacture wick lamps for local PA coal miners. Another Anton, Frederick M. Anton, and presumed to be another brother got in on the action by patenting a miner’s lamp wick, filed on February 20, 1890. Until this time, wicks were sold in long pieces to allow several lengths of wick to be cut. It was up to the miner to insert the wick in the lamp in an oftentimes tedious and difficult process. If the wick became tightly plaited, woven or twisted in the process, the flow of oil along the strands became problematic. The Frederick Anton patent, issued on July 8, 1890 as No. 431,733, claimed to improve this process by providing a precut length of wick with continuous strands, sized to provide an uncompressed fit in the lamp’s spout thereby avoiding twisting, and tied at one end in such a way with loose ties to greatly simplify inserting the wick in the lamp. As described in the patent claim, “in introducing this wick into the wick-tube, the loose ends of the cord are placed in the lamp and then by a strong puff of breath, they are blown out through the tube where they may be grasped to draw the wick into place, after which the cord is removed thereby freeing the upper ends of the strands.” The wicks were designed especially for miners’ lamps which used lard oil and other animal oils. Twisted, tightly woven wicks were already suitable for lamps using lighter mineral and vegetable oils. Note that the patent predates the use of Sunshine paraffin based fuels. It’s also interesting to note that a patent was issued to George Anton for a miners’ lamp improvement (see G. Anton patent elsewhere in my oil wick pics) on the exact same date as Frederick Anton’s patent. Both patents not only used the same patent attorneys but also the same witnesses.)

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