The Workhorse brand 500 cp lantern is manufactured by the CJN Adams Corp. in Iowa, using foreign and domestic parts. Besides having a positive fuel shutoff (left image-knob to the left) it has a different design for the air/fuel mixing tube (right image). This lantern is in Brien Page’s collection. For safety only use kerosene fuel in this lantern.
The Albert Lea Gas Light Co., Albert Lea, Minnesota, made this 400cp lantern in their several year history that began in 1910. The successor Brite Lite Company also made this model (their No. 69 – see below) before the assets were bought by the American Gas Machine Co. The generator requires preheating by an access to the right of the air tube. This 20″ tall lantern is in Henry Plews’ collection; images by Neil McRae.
Originally designed and built for the military by a consortium of 4 lantern manufacturers, this mil-spec lantern was later built by other companies that successfully bid for the government contracts. Armstrong Products Co., Huntington, West Virginia, had a contract to build this model in 1977. Note the arrow indicating the location of a lighting hole in the frame base plate that is stamped on the frame upright (right image). This lantern is in George Burl’s collection.
This mil-spec lantern, in Roger Hill’s collection, was built by Auto-Fab Manufacturing (AFM), Mansfield, Ohio, in 1967.
This torch-lighting Best lantern may be Model 301 or 304; Best catalogs do not show a difference between them. The bail attachments in this earlier (we believe) version are loops in opposite frame uprights (upper right image). The lower image shows the filler plug from this lantern on the left and the filler plug from the later version (we believe) lantern below on the right. This lantern, which lacks the mica globe, is in Greg Diehl’s collection.
This Best lantern appears to be a later version of the above model. In this version there are two unusual oval openings in the frame base plate with fine screening (lower image) in addition to the lighting door (not shown). The filler plugs (see lower image with the lantern above) and bail attachments are also different between the two versions. This lantern, which also lacks the mica globe, is in Greg Diehl’s collection.
The Brite Lite Co., Albert Lea, Minnesota, made this Model 69 lantern, which is in Jim “Smitty” Smith’s collection. Brite Lite described the finish on this lantern as “oxidized copper” and noted that the 2 quart fount will supply fuel to run the lantern for up to 24 hours. This lantern includes the original glass globe. Compare this lantern to the Albert Lea Gas Light Co. lantern above.
The Brite Lite Co., also made this Model 99 lantern that appears in Catalog No. 5 that can be dated to circa 1916 (McRae). This single mantle, torch lighting, gasoline lantern was also advertised as producing 400 cp. The bail attachment to the central part of the ventilator and the wire guard around the globe are unusual.
The Doud Lighting Co., Chicago, Illinois, made this unmarked Model 35 lantern; it was previously misidentified as a Gloria lantern and appeared lower on this page. This single mantle lantern has a push-pull tip cleaner that is located below the frame. Neil McRae, whose collection this is in, dates this early version of Model 35 to 1921-22. The image on the left shows it running on gasoline although it has an accessory burner (right image) to preheat the generator so it can burn kerosene.
This Doud Model 35 lantern dates to 1922-23, (Neil McRae). The lantern, in Bill Klitzman’s collection, is missing the domed ventilator (top image). The company name is stenciled on the bottom, an unusual feature (bottom image). Like the Model 35 lantern above, this one is meant to burn kerosene and has a preheater to the right of the burner cap with a row of small holes to continuously heat the generator (second from the top image) (here seen with a bunsen flame). The generator has a tip cleaner that is accessed by a knob below the frame (third from the top image).
The Economy Lamp Co., Kansas City, Missouri, made this torch lighting gasoline lantern. Patent 1143238 helps date this lantern to 1914-15. The vertical rod (lower left in the right image) controls the pricker and opens the generator for the flow of fuel through the orifice. Sliding doors in the frame base plate open for preheating. This lantern, in John Hess’ collection, lacks the mica globe.
The Economy Lamp Co. made this early version of Model 408 between 1920 and 1924 according to Neil McRae. The burner on this one is a much larger inverted “U” shape and the generator has a wire spiral designed to speed the match lighting process. The door in the mica globe slides up to light. This lantern is in Tameo Gomi’s collection.
The Economy Lamp Co. made this Model 408 lantern, after 1925 according to Neil McRae who has compared the burner to other burners made by this company. Unfortunately the lantern was figured in the Coleman Collectors Guide 1903-1954 and mistakenly identified as Coleman Model NL 323. Some of the NL 323’s were converted to match lighting which makes the lantern resemble Model 408. This lantern is in Yoshihiro Sugimoto’s collection.
This Handy-Lite lantern was manufactured by Enterprise Tool & Metal Works, Chicago (lower image). This lantern, in Luke Buettner’s collection, includes a generator tip cleaner (upper right and lower images). The box label (not shown) advertises that the handle, that is mounted above the ventilator, stays cool during operation. The lantern runs on gasoline and was rated at 200 cp. This lantern appeared in a 1922 advertisement by this company. The pump that came with the lantern is identical to the one that came with an Enterprise stove and also threads into the air screw. You can see an Enterprise made wall lamp model here.
The burner with the characteristic horizontal air intake tubes is similar to those made by Thomas Mfg. Co., but a 1916 advertisement for this lantern identifies it as a product of the Foote Mfg. Co., another Dayton, Ohio, firm. This model, in Doug Dwyer’s collection, draws air in through the holes around the rim (center image) and connects by inside ports to the air intake tubes (right image). The ventilator bolt is from a Foote Mfg. Co. lamp.
The Gloria Light Co. of Chicago made this Model 12 Oxo Gas lantern circa 1926 (McRae). This 300cp model was designed to burn either kerosene or white gas (left image). The bail on this lantern is a replacement wire for the original. An earlier version of this model (not shown) had a wire hoop bail attached to the top bolt holding the ventilator in place, not attached to tabs as on this model. The generator attaches to the valve body with fine tapered threads (right image) as on a many other Gloria appliances. This lantern is in John Rugotzke’s collection.
This later version of the No. 12 lantern differs from the one above by having the bail fastened to a bracket above the ventilator (right image). Tony Press found this lantern in Australia but believes it was made by Gloria in the US. The bail is a brass replacement modeled after the steel original that was heavily rusted. The glass globe is a slightly smaller diameter than the upper and lower frame pieces so Tony stabilized it with two paper clips.
This Gloria Light Co. single burner lantern is large: it is 15″ high and the turban fount base is 7″ in diameter. Since we have yet to find it in a Gloria catalog, the model number is unknown and Neil McRae has designated it Model N. This lantern was also sold as Knight Light Company’s Model 311. Larry Dunbar has restored this lantern but it still needs a tip cleaner wire (right image) at the top of this torch lighting model.
Neil McRae designated this unknown Gloria Light Co. lantern as Model “AJ.” This lantern, in George Remkus’ collection, is a two mantle version of the preceding model. The tip cleaner lever is at the bottom of the generator, rather than the top as on the preceding, and is not engaged in the up position in the left image. The mica globe was removed for this image.
Also made by the Gloria Light Company, based on the burners this is Model “R” in Neil McRae’s system of designation of this company’s products. This match lighting model also appears in a copper finish and was badged and sold by the Knight Light Company, also of Chicago. This lantern is in George Remkus’ collection.
This Gloria double-mantled, unlabeled lantern Neil McRae, the owner of the lantern, has designated this one as Model “J” as explained above. A unique feature is the the pair of spring clips that hold the ventilator to the top of the frame.
Based on the burner design (upper left image) this lantern was manufactured by the Gloria Light Co. of Chicago, Illinois, for the Sunshine Safety Lamp Co., Kansas City, whose label is soldered to the bottom of the fount (lower image). This lantern is in Dwayne Hanson’s collection.
This is a prototype for the Model 500CK lantern model that the late Levi Glick developed in the summer 2001 for his H.C. Lanterns company in Lancaster Co., Pennsylvania. He used a Coleman Canada steel fount dated February 1984 (left image) with his burner (right image). This lantern is kerosene fueled with an alcohol preheater cup. The filler plug is fitted with an adapter to pressurize with an air compressor. The model is a high output model for the Amish that he rated at 500 cp. The ventilator was his design.
This is the production version of the H.C. Model 500CK lantern above. The vent is stainless steel with no additional finish and the Coleman fount is date stamped April 2010. This lantern is in Dan Davis’ collection. The lantern, like the prototype above, can be suspended with an optional hanger rod.
The Herz Manufacturing Co., St Paul, Minnesota made this 350 cp Marvel-Lite lantern. It has a horizontal built-in pump, comparable to several Swedish tripod stoves of the period. The filler plug is below the bail in the left image. This lantern was made circa 1914; a decade before Coleman made a lantern with a built-in pump. This torch lit gasoline lantern is in John Rugotzke’s collection.
The stenciling on the fount states: No 456, Mfd. by Hydro Carbon Light Co., Seattle (Washington). The lantern resembles other models that were known to be marketed for lighting poultry houses. This lantern, in Michael Merz’s collection, may have been made by another manufacturer.
This lantern may have been manufactured by the Incandescent Light & Stove Co., (ILSCO), Cincinnati, Ohio, based on similarities of the burner and other parts to other possible ILSCO products (McRae). The match lighting lantern has a tip cleaner access above the generator (right image). The globe is comprised of four, slide-in mica panels. This lantern is in Dave Harris’ collection.
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The Terrence Marsh Lantern Gallery 