Oilwick Lamps/Indestructible Lamp

Oilwick Lamps

Indestructible Lamp.JPG - THE INDESTRUCTIBLE - Extremely rare tin face lamp, 1 7/8 in. tall to lid, 1 1/2 in. base dia. with an inverted T steel shoe along the spout and around the bottom near the spout to absorb the blows when knocking up the wick, made by A. H. Funke of NY, marked THE INDESTRUCTIBLE A.H.FUNKE NEW YORK on font; ex-John Leahy Collection (This is one of only a few known surviving examples of this lamp, somewhat of a contradiction for a lamp named indestructible; it was advertised as early as August 1902 in a Miller Supply Catalogue of Huntington, WV and manufactured by A. H. Funke of New York, the same A.H. Funke who along with Fred Baldwin, using Baldwin’s patent, made the Full Moon miners carbide lamp in 1901; Albert H. Funke was an interesting character with a variety of interests. An August 26, 1894 article in the New York Times noted that he was a member of the Regatta Committee of the Knickerbocker Yacht Club. In 1900, he teamed with Frederick Baldwin to manufacture an acetylene bicycle lamp to Baldwin’s patent in the same timeframe that he was already manufacturing the Indestructible oil wick lamp. After Baldwin and Funke modified their bicycle lamp in 1901 (ref: The Iron Age, May 28, 1901 issue) to add handles and a hook calling it the Full Moon Mining Lamp, Baldwin decided to continue focusing on mining lamps and by 1902, he and Funke split. About this same time, Funke seems to be involved in a variety of pursuits as an importer and dealer in high-end firearms as well as automobile parts. A pre-1906 Funke firearms catalog offering a wide variety of pistols and rifles shows his location as 325 Broadway in New York City. An earlier 1901 Christmas advertisement in the American Monthly Vol. 24 shows A. H. Funke, located at 101-103 Duane St. in NY, offering rifles, pistols, and shotguns as well as Baldwin acetylene searchlights, Full Moon acetylene camp lamps, and acetylene bicycle lamps. It’s interesting to note that mining lamps weren’t part of his offering. An ad in Vol. 11 of The Horseless Age – The Automobile Trade Magazine shows Funke, now at 325 Broadway, selling an Autolyte No. 22 acetylene lamp and generator for small automobiles. Funke did not patent his Indestructible oil wick or his other acetylene lamps but he did file for a patent for “a means for conducting water from a car roof” that was awarded as patent #863,709 on August 20, 1907. An obituary published in the New York Times on Feb. 18, 1911 reports that A. H. Funke, 48 years of age, committed suicide by shooting himself in the head. His obituary notes that he was formerly associated with Hermann Boker and Co. dealers in firearms at 26 Warren St. in Manhattan and that he opened an automobile parts store in 1909. At the time of his death he was perfecting an aeroplane that he was planning to bring to the market. see Thorpe and Leahy, 2008 Eureka)

Indestructible Lamp | THE INDESTRUCTIBLE - Extremely rare tin face lamp, 1 7/8 in. tall to lid, 1 1/2 in. base dia. with an inverted T steel shoe along the spout and around the bottom near the spout to absorb the blows when knocking up the wick, made by A. H. Funke of NY, marked THE INDESTRUCTIBLE A.H.FUNKE NEW YORK on font; ex-John Leahy Collection (This is one of only a few known surviving examples of this lamp, somewhat of a contradiction for a lamp named indestructible; it was advertised as early as August 1902 in a Miller Supply Catalogue of Huntington, WV and manufactured by A. H. Funke of New York, the same A.H. Funke who along with Fred Baldwin, using Baldwin’s patent, made the Full Moon miners carbide lamp in 1901; Albert H. Funke was an interesting character with a variety of interests. An August 26, 1894 article in the New York Times noted that he was a member of the Regatta Committee of the Knickerbocker Yacht Club. In 1900, he teamed with Frederick Baldwin to manufacture an acetylene bicycle lamp to Baldwin’s patent in the same timeframe that he was already manufacturing the Indestructible oil wick lamp. After Baldwin and Funke modified their bicycle lamp in 1901 (ref: The Iron Age, May 28, 1901 issue) to add handles and a hook calling it the Full Moon Mining Lamp, Baldwin decided to continue focusing on mining lamps and by 1902, he and Funke split. About this same time, Funke seems to be involved in a variety of pursuits as an importer and dealer in high-end firearms as well as automobile parts. A pre-1906 Funke firearms catalog offering a wide variety of pistols and rifles shows his location as 325 Broadway in New York City. An earlier 1901 Christmas advertisement in the American Monthly Vol. 24 shows A. H. Funke, located at 101-103 Duane St. in NY, offering rifles, pistols, and shotguns as well as Baldwin acetylene searchlights, Full Moon acetylene camp lamps, and acetylene bicycle lamps. It’s interesting to note that mining lamps weren’t part of his offering. An ad in Vol. 11 of The Horseless Age – The Automobile Trade Magazine shows Funke, now at 325 Broadway, selling an Autolyte No. 22 acetylene lamp and generator for small automobiles. Funke did not patent his Indestructible oil wick or his other acetylene lamps but he did file for a patent for “a means for conducting water from a car roof” that was awarded as patent #863,709 on August 20, 1907. An obituary published in the New York Times on Feb. 18, 1911 reports that A. H. Funke, 48 years of age, committed suicide by shooting himself in the head. His obituary notes that he was formerly associated with Hermann Boker and Co. dealers in firearms at 26 Warren St. in Manhattan and that he opened an automobile parts store in 1909. At the time of his death he was perfecting an aeroplane that he was planning to bring to the market. see Thorpe and Leahy, 2008 Eureka)

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