Up Oilwick Lamps Prev Next Slideshow

Previous image Next image Index page Original Image [Zais Frostburg.JPG - 681kB]
Young's Patent Face Lamp Inside
Young's Patent Face Lamp LSide Marking
Young's Patent Face Lamp RSide Marking
Young's Patent Lamps RSide
Young's Patent Lamps LSide
  Zais Frostburg.JPG - FRED B. ZAIS - Tin face lamp, marked FRED B.ZAIS 1876 FROSTBURG, MD inoval on font, has tar knot on tip of spout; attached paper label says used by William L. Schultz for coal mining in PA and MD (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 here. Many of Zais's Frostburg lamps carry mysterious markings (some call them hieroglyphics) at the top of the oval. 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)  
IMG_2148
IMG_2149
IMG_2155
IMG_2152
IMG_2153

Zais Frostburg | FRED B. ZAIS - Tin face lamp, marked FRED B. ZAIS 1876 FROSTBURG, MD in oval on font, has tar knot on tip of spout; attached paper label says used by William L. Schultz for coal mining in PA and MD (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 here. Many of Zais's Frostburg lamps carry mysterious markings (some call them hieroglyphics) at the top of the oval. 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