Nice and bright lamp! Maybe the stamp tells the place in the army... Arme'e belge.. Army Belgisch Leger... Artillery Battalion Leger..., and the year!? I'm not sure... Regards Frank
ABL simply stands for Armee Belge/Belgisch Leger. The date will also be correct. Not all lanterns were coded like this. Petromax was used by the land army, the air force wanted AIDA lanterns (coming out of the same factory ). In the late 1930s the Belgian army bought some Coleman 237As and in the early 1950s they bought Coleman 238Bs, most of these disappeared and I have no idea why the change from Coleman to Petromax.
@primaxel and @JEFF JOHNSON - thank you for the compliments, appreciated. It has quickly become one of my favorites. @Wim Thank you for the information confirming the heritage, it is reassuring, it confirmed my research. It is always interesting to learn a little more about purchasing habits of armies and equipment.
