Safety Lamps/Wolf Brass

Safety Lamps

Wolf Brass.JPG - WOLF STANDARD BRASS - Solid brass safety lamp, marked on top WOLF SAFETY LAMP CO.,BROOKLYN, NY, includes lock key, three-ring globe marked WOLF USA, unfired condition (Around 1913, J. A. Creutzenberg established the Wolf Safety Lamp Company of America in NY. Creutzenberg previously worked for the Friemann and Wolf lamp company in Zwickau, Germany. The standard size Wolf safety lamp was developed in 1883 by M. Charles Wolf of Saxony and introduced into the United States during the 1890s. The Fidelity International Agency was the sole agent for importing the lamp in the early 1900s. These lamps were typically marked Friemann & Wolf GMBH/Zwickau and oftentimes “Made in Germany” along with various patent numbers. Prior to World War I, the Wolf Safety Lamp Company of America was a selling agent, not a manufacturer of lamps. Lamps were imported from Germany and marked with a small oval brass tag bearing the address “Crystal Building, 47/49 West Street, New York.” WW I stopped the importation of lamps from Germany and after the war, the Wolf Safety Lamp Company of America reemerges as a manufacturer of safety lamps. By 1920, the company had moved to Brooklyn where they remained for many years. Lamps manufactured during this time period had an oval brass tag bearing the Brooklyn address. In 1921, the American-made Wolf lamp was approved by the U.S. Bureau of Mines, six years after the Koehler Company obtained its first lamp approval from the USBM. The standard size Wolf lamp manufactured in the U.S was 11 3/4 in. tall to the top of the hook ring by 3.5 in. in dia. and available in both steel and aluminum with brass fittings. Lamps were equipped with the internal flint igniter and wick screw adjustment. The lamp model No. 100 with a corrugated bonnet, flat or round burner, and magnetic lock received USBM approval. Other standard size Wolf lamps included model Nos. 131, 201 and 232 with options of corrugated or plain bonnets, round or flat burners, and key or magnetic locks. In addition, Wolf manufactured the “baby” safety lamps highly prized by collectors. These lamps were 7 1/4 in. tall by 2.5 in. in dia. and came in both aluminum and brass. Identified as lamp model Nos. 600, 602, 602C and 603, they had bonnet options of none, corrugated or plain, round burners, and either key or magnetic locks. The No. 603 lamp with corrugated bonnet and magnetic lock also received USBM approval. Wolf also offered a standard size all brass lamp with hose nipple and kit equipped with a 45 deg. polished mirror for marine and sewer gas detection. Along with other models including a Fleissner-type singing methane detector, different size carbide safety lamps and surveyor’s safety lamp, Wolf also offered an intermediate size bonneted lamp called the “Junior” that was 10 in. tall to the top of the hook ring. The Wolf Safety Lamp Company of America was sold to the Mine Safety Appliance Company, a long-time sales agent, in 1965 and eventually, the Wolf line of lamps was dropped completely. See Moon, Mining Artifact Collector #9, pp 15-17 and Pohs, Miner’s Flame Light Book, pp 356-357)

Wolf Brass | WOLF STANDARD BRASS - Solid brass safety lamp, marked on top WOLF SAFETY LAMP CO., BROOKLYN, NY, includes lock key, three-ring globe marked WOLF USA, unfired condition (Around 1913, J. A. Creutzenberg established the Wolf Safety Lamp Company of America in NY. Creutzenberg previously worked for the Friemann and Wolf lamp company in Zwickau, Germany. The standard size Wolf safety lamp was developed in 1883 by M. Charles Wolf of Saxony and introduced into the United States during the 1890s. The Fidelity International Agency was the sole agent for importing the lamp in the early 1900s. These lamps were typically marked Friemann & Wolf GMBH/Zwickau and oftentimes “Made in Germany” along with various patent numbers. Prior to World War I, the Wolf Safety Lamp Company of America was a selling agent, not a manufacturer of lamps. Lamps were imported from Germany and marked with a small oval brass tag bearing the address “Crystal Building, 47/49 West Street, New York.” WW I stopped the importation of lamps from Germany and after the war, the Wolf Safety Lamp Company of America reemerges as a manufacturer of safety lamps. By 1920, the company had moved to Brooklyn where they remained for many years. Lamps manufactured during this time period had an oval brass tag bearing the Brooklyn address. In 1921, the American-made Wolf lamp was approved by the U.S. Bureau of Mines, six years after the Koehler Company obtained its first lamp approval from the USBM. The standard size Wolf lamp manufactured in the U.S was 11 3/4 in. tall to the top of the hook ring by 3.5 in. in dia. and available in both steel and aluminum with brass fittings. Lamps were equipped with the internal flint igniter and wick screw adjustment. The lamp model No. 100 with a corrugated bonnet, flat or round burner, and magnetic lock received USBM approval. Other standard size Wolf lamps included model Nos. 131, 201 and 232 with options of corrugated or plain bonnets, round or flat burners, and key or magnetic locks. In addition, Wolf manufactured the “baby” safety lamps highly prized by collectors. These lamps were 7 1/4 in. tall by 2.5 in. in dia. and came in both aluminum and brass. Identified as lamp model Nos. 600, 602, 602C and 603, they had bonnet options of none, corrugated or plain, round burners, and either key or magnetic locks. The No. 603 lamp with corrugated bonnet and magnetic lock also received USBM approval. Wolf also offered a standard size all brass lamp with hose nipple and kit equipped with a 45 deg. polished mirror for marine and sewer gas detection. Along with other models including a Fleissner-type singing methane detector, different size carbide safety lamps and surveyor’s safety lamp, Wolf also offered an intermediate size bonneted lamp called the “Junior” that was 10 in. tall to the top of the hook ring. The Wolf Safety Lamp Company of America was sold to the Mine Safety Appliance Company, a long-time sales agent, in 1965 and eventually, the Wolf line of lamps was dropped completely. See Moon, Mining Artifact Collector #9, pp 15-17 and Pohs, Miner’s Flame Light Book, pp 356-357)

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