Coleman made several thousand Model HQ pendant lamps in the mid- to late-1920’s, according to Strong’s Shipping Records (Becker). You can see the Coleman – Toronto version of Model HQ here. This lamp with 329 Coleman shade, in Dwayne Hanson’s collection, was photographed to show the brightness of this 300 cp model. Please contact me if you have one of these lamps.
This CQ lamp, dated May, 1926, in Dick Sellers’ collection, has a 318 shade that Coleman originally had made for torch lighting Models M and N. This shade is brown as are other shades designated 318 by Coleman. David Jahn thinks this shade was sold on the later Quick-Lites, as seen here, to use up old stock.
This Coleman CQ lamp is dated July ’26. On the left it is fitted with the #307 green cased shade that has white glass underneath and on the right with the #324 shade finished in green. This lamp and shades are in Dean DeGroff’s collection.
This Model BQ Bracket Lamp is shown with the #307 white ribbed shade. This lamp is in Dwayne Hanson’s collection. It was made in the late teens to early 30’s. This lamp is not marked.
Coleman Models 117, 118, and 119 were the first Coleman instant lighting lamps; all had slant generators, and were introduced in the 1928 model year (Vantiger). Model 117 lamp takes a separate pump. The finish on this model was called Crackel Green Colac paint. It has the #443 Kremelite shade (left) and #444 Peacock shade (right). This lamp is in Dean DeGroff’s collection.
Model 118 differed from Model 117 above in having an integral pump. This lamp, in John Stendahl’s collection, is seen here with a 443 Kremelite shade as it would have been sold originally. The shade holder (upper right image) was a new design for the slant generator lamps. The lamp appears to be unfired. The original Brown-gold veined Colac paint on this lamp (lower images) shows the factory variation in the Crackel finish. This lamp is date stamped September, 1927, before regular production had begun (Vantiger).
Model 118A no longer included the slant generator in the instant lighting design. The finish on this lamp is the original golden brown Colac paint. The lamp was sold with a 10 inch No. 443 Kremelite shade. This lamp, in Ed Dennis’ collection, is date stamped Sept. 1929, a couple of months after the model was first shipped. The retail price of this model in 1933 was $9.75.
This unique lamp appears to be a Model 118A as above but has several differences. It lacks the fluted fount of other 118A lamps. The fount is the same shape and size as a CQ fount but lacks the nickel plating. It is date stamped January, 1930. The bottom of the fount is stamped Instant Light and the sides have a brown Colac paint finish. The pump handle and cap (lower image) are aluminum rather than brass as on other lamps of this vintage. It appears to have come this way from the factory and was found with the Coleman 443 shade. This lamp is in Brad Turnbull’s collection.
This 119B is date stamped 0 4 (April ’30). While the lamp is stamped 118B, it is identified as Model 119B in catalogs (Vantiger). She also found that it came with a Coleman 444 shade. The B versions differed from the A versions of the 117, 118, and 119 in having the valve below rather than above the handle, This lamp is in Jim & Jan Nichols collection.
This Model C331 lamp has an integral pump, fluted fount, and turned wood handle – features that are unique among Coleman’s Quick-Lite lamp models. The Canadian version of this model lacked the integral pump. Coleman sold this model with a 329 white Monax shade as seen here. The fount and handle were finished in Silvertone. This lamp, date stamped April, 1929, is in Darcy Vantiger’s collection.
The fount of this C362 lamp is date stamped March, 1930. Model C362 stands for the lamp model, C(Q), while the 462 fitter with the 3/4th frosted 062 heat resisting globe = 362 in the model name (Vantiger). The 462 globe fitter assembly was also used with 117A and 118A lamp models This lamp is in Dean DeGroff’s collection.
Models F-102 (upper left), F-104 (upper right), and F-105 (lower) table lamps were made by Coleman for their Sunshine Products Co., Chicago, Illinois. Note the carburetor valve in the F-104 & F-105; these lamps are instant lighting. The F-102 & F-104, in Neil McRae’s collection, feature the same shade, while the “corrugated” shade on the F-105, in Doug Dwyer’s collection, is the only difference besides the finish (bronze vs. brass) between these latter two models; both of these lamps are stamped CQ and May, 1932. These two shades were the only ones offered by Sunshine Products as was true of the earlier Sunshine Safety Lamp Co.
Model 122 lamps were designated for export in the 1932 Shipping Records. The undated lamp came with a white opal paneled shade (left image) but a parchment shade could be substituted. It shared the burner and generator with the Model 223 series export lanterns (middle image). These 300 cp rated lamps used a larger Senior mantle and burned either gasoline or kerosene. A pressure gauge (not present here) was extra. Note the tip cleaner wheel above the valve wheel (left image). This lamp is in James “Smitty” Smith’s collection.
Coleman Model 130P came with a parchment shade, hence the P suffix. Erwin Schäfer made this 347 shade based on the original Coleman design. The lamp has the original mica globe. This gasoline model has a Silvertone finish, is match lighting, and requires a separate pump. Only the year number, 1934, can be read on this lamp.
This Coleman 130K, in Ron Becker’s collection, is dated January, 1934. It has a metal sleeve inserted in the upper air tube (upper middle image) that is held in place by “dimples” above and below the tube (upper right image). The lamp came with an R55 generator and did not come with an alcohol preheater cup rather than a T44K generator and preheater cup as other kerosene models of the period. Model 130K was meant to be preheated with a torch (lower image).
While it lacks an original shade, this Coleman Model 131 lamp has a reproduction mica chimney made by Fred Kuntz, who owns this lamp. This lamp is dated July, 1934.
Models 134G (left) and 134A (right) are match lighting models; they require a separate pump and were economy models. Model 134G came with the Pyrex globe, and had a Silvertone finish; This lamp, in Dean DeGroff’s collection, is dated June 1935. Model 134A, in Bob Meyer’s collection, came with the original mica globe and parchment shade as seen here, and with an Ivory finish. This lamp is dated Aug. 39.
Coleman made this Model 133 in June, 1935. Model 133 is another instant lighting gasoline model made in Wichita. The two pint fount is finished in two tone Indian Bronze paint, seen here with the 355 globe but not the parchment shade. The lamp requires a separate pump. This lamp is in Frederik Tivemark’s collection.
Model 129 is similar in features to 134 models above except that it is a kerosene model. This lamp, in Jim Lawrence’s collection, is date stamped October, 1936. It was sold with a No 355 globe as Model 129G; with a parchment shade and the 355 globe it was sold as Model 129. The finish on this lamp is Indian Bronze.
The Model 150 gasoline lamp came in a glossy-black (150B), spring-green (150G), cream-ivory (150I), or wine-red (150R) base. The 150 series were match generating, according to a 1937 Coleman Wichita catalog. When equipped with a T44K generator, they were kerosene fueled, torch generating, and had the suffix K in the model number. These 300 cp lamps, which require a separate pump, are in Jerry Engbring’s collection. They originally came with mica globes and parchment shades.
The Model 151 instant lighting gasoline lamp came in a glossy-black (151B) or spring- green (151G) base. These three mantle, 450 cp lamps also appear in the 1937s Coleman Wichita catalog. Note the tip cleaner wheel (left) on this model that also featured a built- in pump and came with a parchment shade over the Pyrex glass globe. The lamp on the left is in Jerry Engbring’s collection and the lamp on the right is in Dan Davis’ collection.
This is the Model 143 table lamp with a parchment shade. This lamp is in Dwayne Hanson’s collection. The lamp has an inner Pyrex globe that allowed for the use of a Coleman “Sheer-Lite” shade. This shade is the Poinsettia pattern. It was manufactured in October, 1938.
Coleman’s Model 138 is a two-burner, kerosene-fueled lamp that was made in the later 1930’s. The one on the left, in Verne Sullivan’s collection, is finished in black enamel with a plated base. The one on the right, in George Rocen’s collection, is finished in black enamel with red accents. They lack parchment shades but have finials and inner Pyrex No. 355 globes. Models 138, 138A, and 138B are named in Coleman catalogs but the details of their differences are not known.
This Coleman Model 132P (“P” for the original parchment shade) instant lighting lamp also has the original brass finial (right image). This lamp is unusual for two reasons: 1. it has a standard burner with an R55 generator rather than a roto-burner with an integral tip cleaner as on Model 132A below, and 2. the bottom plate has been modified in the factory with solder to cover changes for the lamp model on which it was used (lower image). The date stamped there, 0 4 (April ’30), cannot be right and is likely Oct ’34 (Vantiger). The lamp came with an inner mica globe (not shown). This lamp is in Jim Dencker’s collection.
Instant-Lite Model 132A was manufactured from 1935-49. The coppertone version (left) is date stamped Aug. 1937. It has the 355 globe but lacks the parchment shade. The ivory with gold accent version (right), in John Carriere’s collection, is date stamped Nov. 1940. The parchment shade is a replacement; it is protected within by the 355 Coleman globe.
Several years after Coleman made Model 129 (above on this page), they made Model 129A. This one, in Ron Becker’s collection, is date stamped April, 1940. The decal (lower image) is a distinctive shape.
Another Coleman Model 129A lamp, this one is also date stamped April, 1940. It is unfired and came with the original shade. The air tube above the generator junction and below the mixing chamber casting, has horizontal dimples to the left of “A” and “B” in the right image, possibly made with a flat-bladed screwdriver, to hold the inner brass tube in position to facilitate burning kerosene. This lamp is in Dean DeGroff’s collection.
Model 139 table lamp came with a parchment shade (not shown) which was protected by the 355 Pyrex globe as seen here. The lamp could be run on kerosene or gasoline with a T44K or T44G generator respectively. This lamp, in Herman Mulder’s collection, is date stamped July, 1946.
Coleman’s Model 152 & 152A (below) were the last lamp models made in Wichita. These lamps are both dated Jan. 1947, early in the production of this model. The lamp on the left, in Bill Tanner’s collection, came with a 355 globe and parchment shade. This model ran on white gas or kerosene and is running here on kerosene. The lamp on the right, in Dorothy Nietfeldt’s collection, is seen with the original parchment shade. $11.95 is the price in marking pencil on the box for this lamp.
Model 152A was a gasoline only model so there is no instructional decal on the fount. This lamp, in Bob Meyer’s collection, is date stamped A 48. The plastic pleated shade is shown in Coleman catalogs and may have come with the lamp.
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