Made by Drukov Družstvo in former Czechoslovakia. The company still exists in the Czech Republic. I have emailed them at a couple of times and asked if they have any information about the lanterns of their past history, but never gotten any replies. This one miss the glass. And also its original mantle holder. I stole one from a 500 CP Anchor when I tested it some years ago. (It performed well.)
Hello Christer, that's a sleek and stylish lantern! Are there any members of this website from the former Czechoslovakia?
Hi Christer a very nice unique little lantern i realy do like the look of these plaited lanterns with the top of the burner hood enamelled, Based on the petromax design,i notice a hexagonal plug on the tank possibly for a rapid preheater or may be they used the same tank for a lntern fitted with a rapid preheater and a standard spirit cup lantern
I like it. What do you think of it Christer, I was watching one on ebay recently but it didn't sell for the high price it was offered at? Cheers Trevor
Trevor, I think it's OK. It seems to be of decent quality, even if some details are a bit flimsy. I find the bottom plate to be a bit thin, and it's all flat. But then again: that's how the Petromax´s are, and they doesn't crack under pressure. (I think?) The font is all brass, by the way. The hood and cage/globe rest are plated steel. Neil has the same kind of lantern, . I'm not sure, but it almost looks like the fount has rusted under the paint there! Is your fount made out of steel, Neil? That's a good possibility. Or perhaps a pressure gauge, even if the hole might seem a bit bigger than necessary for that option. Not that I'm aware of, but if there are, I hope they will step forward if they have any information whatsoever about this company's lamp- and lantern manufacturing part.
Yes mine is a steel tank with signs of rust showing. Pretty rough condition really but you don't see many of these so I was pleased to find even a poor one. ::Neil::
Hi Christer, recently I acquired an odd lantern which reminds me of both: the LUNA you have there and also the . At removing the top cap it seemed to me somehow that the LUNA could be a clone of the Ditmar 520. But there are some more details which could confirm this thesis: There's a label on my lantern which points to a former seller in Czechoslovakia: This label was just affixed onto the original stamping "501", which also fits the shape of the tank. However it has a 520 style fitting where the vaporizer is screwed in, which is different from the 501 type. The lantern seems to have been rarely used, if ever. So possibly it could be a prototype? I'm making to get it work at the moment and will put some more photos of it to the reference gallery. Overall, my exemplar seems to be a Ditmar for sure: BR, Martin
