I'm currently in discussion with another member about a Coleman lantern I have in my collection - one I haven't seen for many years and haven't any idea of its current whereabouts. All I know is that I won't have sold it. I posted a picture of it many, many years ago and an American collector identified it at the time as a rather rare and obscure Coleman model. He referred me to the correct page on Terry Marsh's site where I recall there was a note asking that anyone owning one of these lanterns to contact him - I didn't. I can't remember the name of the American collector although I don't think he's a prolific contributor currently and hasn't been for many years. Terry's site is frequently updated and I can't seem to find the page I'm looking for so it's probably been changed in the intervening years. Neither can I find my thread here. All I can remember about this lantern was that it had a collar from one of the 'slant-type' Colemans although the generator was one of the later, conventional vertical types. The collar in question has the typical, wide-mouthed, deeply inset aperture necessary to accommodate the knob from a slant-type lantern and allow sufficient thumb and finger access to work the knob. If I recall correctly, it was some sort of transition model where Coleman were using up slant-type collars after the demise of that system - maybe late '20s / early '30s? So the question is, can anyone identify the precise model from my description OR the page on Terry's site OR find my original post here. Help! Many thanks in advance...
That's it, Christer - many thanks! The link to Terry's page is:- Coleman Canada lanterns 1921 – 1945 – The Terrence Marsh Lantern Gallery (terry-marsh.com) ...and here's the part of that page in question:- How's that, George...
So the big question is, do you have the top lantern (L427) with the R55 roto-generator and no access hole in the burner frame baseplate, or the lower lantern (220A) with the straight generator, separate pricker lever in the valve body and access to the pricker lever through the baseplate? Both are really unusual to find, but that the top one in the pics is the really tough one to ever locate! Mike.
According to member Matthew4qB (who I'm assuming is the Matthew Reid mentioned on Terry's page), it's the hybrid lantern I have - see Matthew's extensive piece in the thread Christer found for me. Yes, they're really tough to ever locate, even within my own collection which cuts down the search area considerably from the entire world to merely my house and storage units. I've a feeling it was in my summerhouse. I did tried to contact Terry by email earlier today but the link on his website didn't work. I'd like to know which are the unique parts to look out for (without dismantling the lantern) so I can be absolutely sure what it is I have. See the pic I posted, compare it with Terry's picture of Matthew Reid's lantern and make up your own mind for now...
There's no doubt that you have a 427 that Matthew Reid described. Yours has a Q99 generator installed which is fine. I would suggest that most used an R55 for the tip cleaner convenience, but they are interchangeable. The huge visible difference between your 427 and a 220A is the fuel valve/generator arrangement/burner frame. On the 220A it uses a generator whose pricker rod connects to the lever in the fuel valve and there's a cutout in the burner baseplate to access the pricker lever. Yours has the R55 and burner frame with no hole--so a 427. Top photo is a 220A, bottom is a 427. If you dismantle a 220A you'll find the slant lantern fuel pickup which is kinked with a mesh fuel filter. Open up yours and you'll find a straight tube--again, a 427. I can remember when Matthew was trying to get collectors to recognize these lanterns--especially the 220A. Many felt they were cobbled up by owners trying to keep them running. Thanks to Matthew's work, more and more have been found with the exact same components, and they are correctly recognized as production lanterns from Coleman Canada. They're not so "rare" now (but still low numbers), as more collectors know what they are and recognize the significance. My 220A came from a home in Ottawa that had it in their yard sale, and the 427 is from an estate in Geraldton, Ontario, about 1200km from where I live. Saw it on a buy and sell website, and was flying up there the next week on business. If not for Matthew's research I would've figured both were repair jobs. Mike.
@David Shouksmith Sloppily, I read your post title as ‘re-call’ and briefly had the thought that it was an early one for Coleman to re-call. Seems you have a rarity there David. I wonder what it requires to burst into life - maybe choosing my words unwisely for a gas pressure appliance. John
