This is the only Aladdin pressure lantern I have in my collection. Not sure at all of the date. I tried to get a shot of the decal. It's not too bad and I thought it might help date the lantern.
That’s a fine Aladdin, @george. It is one of the later variations, but not as late, I think, as the black pump cap with “Aladdin” on it, or with the metal stick-on Aladdin label. I think the metal label signifies the last variation. There’s a bit of work to do putting dates to Aladdin variations. Cheers Tony @Nils Stephenson @Sedgman
@Tony Press I'm lost on this one, Tony. I know very little about these lanterns but I am hoping someone can help me date it, or at least get a "ball park" date.
@george I'm in the same boat as you, I have a very similar model as yours, shown here in the middle of the following picture, and I would dearly love to be able to get a date range. As Tony said, we need to try and date the various models of the Aladdin 1A. Anyone out there, can you help start the dating procedure perhaps using the following picture as a rough guide. Cheers Pete
@AussiePete Pete, your A1 in the middle looks exactly like mine. Is there a way of dating these through the Radius lanterns? I believe there was some kind of tie in before the war?
Well the best I can do is put them in order as far as my observations go. I have very little paperwork to base any decisions on. Looking at Pete's picture, the green tank one is what I would like to call the second version of the 1A. There were many small variations in metals for that design, but the basic style was consistent. The next lamp is the one in the middle of Pete's picture. My guess is that it was introduced somewhere around 1950. Sometime after that (I am guessing 60s) the black enamel hood version was introduced. Here is where I get a bit lost because there is a black painted tank with an enamel hood and the nickel/chrome tank version. I don't know which one came first, but I am guessing that it was the black tank as it still uses the Aladdin decal. Finally there are the versions with the aluminium stickers on the tank. There are two types of them where at least one of them (the angular one) can be related to a logo change that is dated to the start of the 1970s. That's the best I can do for now as I'm at work and have no access to my pictures.
@george The first Aladdin 1A was the one with: Winged filler cap Locking pump Fibre control wheel Crinkled paint Clipped-on spirit burner. What I’m not sure of is whether the collar with the stamped Aladdin 1A was on the very first version or not. I think it was. This version was a roughish copy of the Radius 119 and was produced in the early 1940s. Tony
I agree with you there. It makes sense that as they started to cut costs, the stamping was something that had to go along with the other more detailed features.
Thanks @Nils Stephenson and @Tony Press. I’ll start a chronology of the Aladdin 1A for you guys and anyone else to critique. Cheers Pete @george
@AussiePete There's the skeleton of a chronology in the Reference Gallery. Some of it is "out of date" - but there's a lot of information there. I've got some old paperwork so happy to help out. Tony
Im not sure when aladdin stopped production, but one of my younger alladdin has the black bakerlite pump knob, it has a aladdin sticker on black painted tank, black hood, two part frame and plate, meth cup has hex shape hole for preston loop generator. The quality is not there. My othere 1A are much older, the steel tanks and preston loop may be related to the war effort, as brass was a national comodity.
@Darryl Durdin You need to be included on the critique, you have a lot of info. Cheers Pete @Tony Press @Nils Stephenson @george
Ive bought a few over time, only to be disappointed with stress crcks that rendered the tank usless, ive st rfipped them dfown for parts and never realy thought about bits until someone metions something @AussiePete
@Darryl Durdin @Tony Press @Nils Stephenson @AussiePete Thanks, Guys. It does look a lot like a Radius. Mine has the metal pump and the "plastic" type wheel, and what's left of the decal. I thought the decal might help solve the dating mystery. I got instructions but they were a reproduction. They probably don't exactly belong with lantern, just helpful.
It appears from what I'm reading mine must have been made around 1950 (?). The globe is marked "Aladdin" in small letters. It might not be original to the lantern. Don't know if that helps....
I think I remember seeing an ad that mentions the new all chrome lamp. Of course I can't find it now but seem to remember that it was somewhere around 1950, plus minus. That would be a start date for the one like at the top of this post. Then it is just a matter of finding out how long this variation lasted. My guess would be for all of the 50s. From looking at my photos I would then guess that it was the black tank version with the decal that comes next. I have seen it with either a nickel plated top or a black enamel top. The majority I have seen are with black enamel. After that they go back to a nickel plated tank with a black enamel top. The tank now has an aluminium sticker on them. I have seen three types of stickers with variations of the Aladdin logo. One of them corresponds to a trademark that was used up to 1969 (and later in England but no mention of Australia). Another of the designs matches a trademark from 1970 to 1980. I have only seen the third logo used in advertising over quite a long period of time.
@Nils Stephenson Thanks Nils. Next week I’ll start a time line and post it. It’ll be fairly vague at first but I expect it will gradually fill out as we all put input into it. @george @Tony Press @Darryl Durdin
Hi fellas, ive looked for my painted tank with the aladdin logo, its all to late, its gone to the scrap yard and been squashed in with other brass . A missing link gone. I think next time i will take pictures when i come across them. the tank had bad stess cracks, which i find effects any aged Aladdin @Nils Stephenson @AussiePete @george @Tony Press
@Darryl Durdin I always advise people to not buy an Aladdin 1A “sight unseen” for the very reason on stress cracks. Cheers Tony
Heres something close to what got scrapped. And pic of the meth bowl. 2 brass from oldest 1A and what is a pressed metal bowl from the yougest 1A
