Yesterday I received these two lanterns to service for their owner. He told me he had bought them second hand at a yachting equipment auction in Cape Town about four years ago. Since then they had hung in his garage. He lives near the sea and they have suffered some corrosion. Both frames are cracked as is one vent cap. All the parts are non-magnetic except for the bail and inner hood. Can anyone perhaps assist in identifying the manufacturer?
Spot on. Not unknown at all. These lanterns appear branded either as FAMA or LANTERNE model D206. They are identical to Hipolito product and were made in the Hipolito factory. Fama was the brand name for a stove made in a factory set up in Porto in 1940 by a Swedish company. From the style of the lanterns I suspect that might have been Optimus. They were taken over by Hipolito in 1956 and the brand names were continued. These two are fitted with the 1964 patent rapid pre heater so will be '60s or '70s. I have seen these with the FAMA logo stamped on the top of the hood. ::Neil::
Hipolito was my very first reaction too when I saw the words Lanterne and Automatic. Compared to my own 250cp Hipolito these two seem not to be made to the same standard and there are differences in the stamping of the collar, the control wheel, pump knob (wrong on mine), etc.
I am not sure these were made concurrently with Hipolito. If they were then perhaps they were made as a cheaper brand. They are not common though and may predate Hipolito. ::Neil::
Judging by the design of the collar, I would say your Hipolito is older than the Lanterne. The Lanterne collar looks like what you would find on the newer Petromax lamps.
Makes sense. The Hipolito is certainly from before they started to make Petromax. That was in the 1970s so I guess that means the Lanterne is around the 1980s. ::Neil::
Take a good look at the Plastic parts and compare them with the petromax parts: The two piece valce control, was also used by E&G the single piece by Graetz even the color of the pumpknob or the rapid. all points to Petromax as a base.
The Geniol lanterns from Heinze Wuppertal had the same design, although the wheel and pump knob were (usually) black. However, some of them also came in orange, as can be seen here in the reference gallery. I guess that these were also manufactured by Hipolito in Portugal.
The two lanterns cleaned up better than I had expected. Below are the parts after cleaning and the money shot after reassembly.
Hi Phaedrus42, Thes are two modern and very reliable lanterns. They are from the Casa Hipolito factory, probably built under licence from Graetz Altena. You did a superb job, they are in great shape, congratulation Regards, Titoo
