Just bought a Coleman 238A

I have been aware of the existence of this particular one for a year or two and finally persuaded the owner to part with it. Acquiring a lamp as rare as this is a once-in-a-lifetime event, if you are very very lucky...

If all goes well I will receive it next week.
In the mean time, here are a few photos the owner sent me:

 

Well done on been blessed with such a rare one.

 

Right at this moment, you could not slap the grin off my face

 

Why would this model be so rare Phil?

 

There are only two or three known to exist. Only a small number were ever made as their manufacturing cost was too high to compete in the market.
I'm sure @Mackburner can enlighten us further.

 

Good catch, it's a nice looking lantern for sure!

 

Interesting, so Coleman used the petromax design.
But is this then the pre ColeMax version ?
The colemax is also a combination between Coleman and petromax. What made this type so expensive to make ?

 

Lots of complicated parts and machining. It is a huge and heavy lantern.

 

Hello Phil, that is a great find indeed!

 

Recently there was a fellow on the bay selling these. It was Belgium army surplus, so he said. Wanted well in excess of a $1000 for them. Coleman Canada turned these out from 1950 to 52. Can't remember seeing one with a green top. Looks like the vaporizer has been replaced with the Petromax-type.
The more I look at this the more it looks like a 240, not a 238.

 

@george , that is the 238B, a quite different but also very desirable lantern.
The 238A has the rapid torch whereas the 239 and 240 were very similar but without the torch.

 

You have one very rare lantern here!!!

 

@phaedrus42
Sorry mate but it’s a huge mistake as it’s not what you think. It’s not rare at all, millions of them in shops everywhere .....
I’ll take it off your hands, just send it to me, I’ll send a few rubles to compensate for the postage ........

Seriously, I’m as jealous as all get out .
You’ve done very well in securing it and I hope you enjoy it. Please post heaps of pictures of this rare beauty.
Enjoy
Cheers
Pete

 

Very nice find, Phil.


Cheers

Tony

 

Thanks All, I will post detailed photos of the parts when I fettle it.

 

@WimVe I believe the Col-max is older than the 238. The 238 was made in Canada, the first Col-max lanterns were made in the US and then later in Canada, and finally in Hong Kong.
If I'm wrong someone will correct me!

 

As far as I know, the 238A was made in 1940 and 1941, the 238B was made in 1950-1952 (or was it 1955?) and the Col-Max models came at least a few years later.

 

I did a little digging and I came up with some info. The 238A, 239A, and the 240 appeared in patents around 1940/41. All models have green tops. These three lanterns appear to be, as Neil stated, a marriage between the 237 model and the Col-Max.
The earliest date I can find for the Col-Max types is 1946. This applies to lanterns made both in US and Canada. This is sure confusing! cause now one would believe the Col-Max has to date earlier than 1946 if this "marriage" took place.
HELP, I need help now! What was Coleman thinking!!!

 

Well I was just describing how they look not outlining a progression. As far as I know there is only one 238A extant. I assume this one was bought from the guy who I have listed as owner. This 238A and 240 are seriously rare lanterns both known as single examples. The common one is model 239 as I know of about 6 of those. All found in SA originally. They are described in my PLC and also in the Coleman Collectors guide.
Here is the patent dtrawing and an image of the 240 next to a 237 to give you an idea of the size. ::Neil::

 

So now we know of at least two: the one Deon Bouwer has (which he obtained from Peet van der Walt in 2007) and the one that I found. I have asked the previous owner about its provenance and will record the info.

Thanks for the photos and explanation, Neil. Looks like these lanterns were seriously over-engineered and with the war starting I can understand why the model was shelved.

I did not realise they are taller than the 236/237. Can't wait to get it into my grubby little paws to examine it at first hand

 

So two then. It was Peet's I was aware of. Over engineered is right. One thing I found was getting the globe out and back in the normal way by removing the hood is difficult to remove and damn near impossible to re install. Easy though if you undo the two big knurled nuts and remove the whole globe cage. Took me ages to work that out because the rods on mine were rusty and almost welded in so to begin with I left them alone.

Oh yes great big clunky things for sure. I have always wondered about how they all seem to be in SA. They are dated 1940 so made during WW2 and shipped across the Atlantic in what appears to be a single batch. They are not in any sales catalogue or any advertising we have found. I suspect the only place to look for paper will be SA. They are listed in a Canadian Parts catalogue dated 1947 which was rather important because that gave me the model numbers but that does not illustrate them. They are three of the rarest of Coleman. ::Neil::

 

@Mackburner Thanks, Neil. This diagram was what I was working from. Found it in the new ICCC book. Method in the madness? There must have been a "specific" purpose in mind when Coleman came up with this design. Coleman already had a good lantern in the 237. This is a damn big lantern, and rare, too!
But why South Africa?

 

From the patent drawing I can't see how the rapid is working.

 

@WimVe , the rapid preheat torch will be much the same as the 238B and the 1938 Petromax 827

 

From where you bought it?

 

From a private seller. Unfortunately, he had only the one.

 

I did a quick search on ebay and found a Japanese seller who asks $2,999!!! for what looks like an unused 238B ex Belgian Army. It is polished to a high luster so I'm not sure if it is new or over-restored. Is this normal? And why would they go for such high prices? Maybe it is time to sell mine, will help covering my hospital bills.....

 

@Wim Very sorry to hear about your illness. I hope things improve for you.
Most Coleman 238 lanterns will bring "big" money! They were made in Canada as far as I can remember, and during the time I mentioned.
I think the guy in Japan was on to something and probably bought a big number from the Belgium military surplus. He probably bought them cheap and figured he could make a lot of money by selling them at high prices. These are hard lanterns to find but, in my opinion, not worth what he's asking. I think you are right, he did some cleaning from the looks of them. They look too clean for something packed away for almost 70 years!

 

Wow
Very nice!

 

Thank you George! @george

After I found mine about 10 or so years ago I started to look out for them, asking around etc. A couple years ago a man I know bought some AIDAs (ex Belgian Air Force) and a truckload of P'max spares and Luxor mantles at an army sale. I know he's been looking out for the Coleman lanterns but also without luck. So, the ones that came to the surface of late must have been sold to the public quite some years ago I think. Maybe when the army decided to switch from Coleman to P'max (army) and AIDA (air force) late 1950s. I wish I knew how many they ordered! Another weird thing is the M1950 stove. I bought 4 of them, all from different sellers, all brand new and made in 1952. 3 made by Rodgers & Akron (as are the 4 canisters) and 1 Coleman. I never ever saw one in use nor heard of them ever being used by the Belgian army (we had the ESBIT folding stoves in the second half of the 1970s).