Up Oilwick Lamps Prev Next Slideshow

Previous image Next image Index page Original Image [Frostburg II.JPG - 718kB]
Fleming Patent Lamp Marked Bottom
Fleming Patent Lamp Bottom Date Marking
Fleming Patent
Frostburg I
Frostburg I Marking
  Frostburg II.JPG - FROSTBURG II - Tin face lamp with double spout, stamped FROSTBURG (The story of Frostburg marked wick lamps begins with Fred B. Zais. Zais was born in Germany, trained as a tinsmith and came to America in 1843, settling in Frostburg, MD. Zais made wick lamps at his tinsmith shop in Frostburg including both single and double spout, face and driver's lamps. The earliest marking on a Frostburg lamp is 1876 as shown elsewhere in the oilwick lamp photos. Many of Zais's Frostburg lamps carry mysterious markings (some call them hieroglyphics) at the top of the oval as shown here. While some have speculated what the markings mean, they continue to remain a mystery to collectors. Fred Zais died in 1903. His sons Morris and George continued the business well into the era of carbide lamps. Two other markings on Zais lamps are of interest. One private-label marking is L.B. Prichard & Co 1907 Frostburg, with Prichards being a hardware store in Frostburg. Another lamp is marked H. Weigand 1898 Frostburg but little is known of the Weigand brand. The Zais family joins the Antons of Monongahela, PA in a special group of wick lamp manufactures that spans the early history of wick lamps to its demise as carbide lamps replaced them underground. See Van Fleet, Mining Artifact Collector #12, pp 16-19)  
Geo Anton I
Geo Anton I Marking
Geo Anton II
Geo Anton II Marking
Geo Anton III

Frostburg II | FROSTBURG II - Tin face lamp with double spout, stamped FROSTBURG (The story of Frostburg marked wick lamps begins with Fred B. Zais. Zais was born in Germany, trained as a tinsmith and came to America in 1843, settling in Frostburg, MD. Zais made wick lamps at his tinsmith shop in Frostburg including both single and double spout, face and driver's lamps. The earliest marking on a Frostburg lamp is 1876 as shown elsewhere in the oilwick lamp photos. Many of Zais's Frostburg lamps carry mysterious markings (some call them hieroglyphics) at the top of the oval as shown here. While some have speculated what the markings mean, they continue to remain a mystery to collectors. Fred Zais died in 1903. His sons Morris and George continued the business well into the era of carbide lamps. Two other markings on Zais lamps are of interest. One private-label marking is L.B. Prichard & Co 1907 Frostburg, with Prichards being a hardware store in Frostburg. Another lamp is marked H. Weigand 1898 Frostburg but little is known of the Weigand brand. The Zais family joins the Antons of Monongahela, PA in a special group of wick lamp manufactures that spans the early history of wick lamps to its demise as carbide lamps replaced them underground. See Van Fleet, Mining Artifact Collector #12, pp 16-19) Download Original Image
Total images: 770 | Last update: 3/30/24 6:41 PM | Help