Hi. I have found this Bialaddin model 300X, which is in pretty good shape. On the picture, I have not cleaned it yet. I wonder about the date of this lamp. It is very similar to the "red-top" lamp posted here by george. But mine has a top where the enamel is blue (with a hint of purple). Any idea of the date of this one?
What you have there is a very, very nice example of an early Bialaddin 300X in seemingly excellent original condition. Year of manufacture - 1947 is a safe bet. Until late 1949 these ventilators or chimneys are made of brass, with a steel enameled top which is attached with two screws. Till then, the three air buttons in the ventilator are of the hexagonal shape. Initially the colour of these steel tops was black, then red. Also, initially the preheater dish was in plain brass, then it got plated with the shiny speculum. The very first Bialaddins had the name and maker mentioned on the brass ventilator, with a plain collar, in the same style of the previous Vapalux 300X from 1946. Then the information on the lamp was transitioned down to the collar, with a plain ventilator as in your lamp, perhaps already in 1946 or early 1947. Perhaps later that year, but in 1948 anyway, the fittings in brass (fuel cap and pump) were sprayed over in the same colour as the tank as a cost-cutting exercise. Probably the same time the red top appeared, that only blends in colour with the maroon of the tank when the top gets hot. Another expense-cutting measure was to provide these lamps with an alloy fuel cap, that seems short-lived however. Initially the glass has a red logo, with Bialaddin curved underneath the Pyrex roundel. Soon this was changed with the name curved above it, with the green versions the most common as these appeared on the lamps with the green spot welded tops. Unfortunately these later lamps have the same 300X typing, while in appearance they are quite different from your lamp, which in my eyes is the best classic looking Bialaddin lamp produced. Oh, and welcome to this site! If you read up on these very lamps, and have a look in the Gallery, you will find that Willis & Bates, a small firm, did not shy away from using parts whenever they were available. Hence a great variety on details that make exact dating an educated guess. Regards, Mike
Thank You, @M.Meijer for an immediate and comprehensive reply. Its very valuable to find such devoted experts in this forum :-) I am no expert, for sure. But it seems that Bialaddin lamps are uncommon, not to say rare in Norway. Mostly I find Petromax and Optimus lamps. This one will get a very gentle cleanup, and perhaps a new net, as the current one is broken. If I can find one that fits. Then I hope to fire her up. Will report back here on any progress!
Hello Håvard, I shy away from the moniker 'expert', as my knowledge on W&B lamps is based on information from others to begin with, with Ian Ashton, who wrote a very nice book on these lamps, a clear exponent. True, I have a rather singular interest in this small manufacturer from Halifax, which motivated me to look at many lamps published on various european websites, slowly condensing certain styles in relation to what years. As said, W&B were very pragmatic in what product they sold, hence they completed lamps with parts often at odds with what is/was regarded as 'standard'. Bear in mind the economies of that era, and a marketing force by the extern Aladdin Industries of Greenford who took control in 1946 (hence the appearance of the brand name 'Bialaddin'), that must have put the pressure on W&B to produce as economicly as possible. I am not surprised that british lamps are not common in Scandinavia, with such dominant local production. Indeed, your contribution here made me wonder how you ended up with this lamp. I assume that with the 'net' you mean that woven bulb suspended beneath the burner? Here on this website these are called 'mantle' and are food for many discussions. I would really like to see some more pictures of your lamp; perhaps you can include a detail photo of the logo? Mike
Some photos. As you can see, the glass is Phöenix. And the top is clearly blue, find it unlikely that it was once red?
Håvard, the top of your lamp is supposed to be black (early version); only later these tops were red enamel. That yours has a different hue towards blue could be the result of poor quality control, or, likely, a wide margin in which products were acceptable. Then again, you might have an odd colour purposely made as a try-out; with W&B much is possible! The glass on your lamp is not often seen, in fact rather rare. I believe Phoenix made different glass for different makes, a british general supplier. Your lamp shows a brass primer dish, and a painted pump. a mix of period parts as already indicated, and nothing really to come to conclusions. We should keep in mind how easy it is to exchange parts on these lamps, that basicly stayed much the same even within the later model range: you could replace that outer pump with the last Vapalux 320 model of the 90's for instance. My question still is, how you became the owner of this lamp?
@M.Meijer @Håvard Kvernelv it may the angle of the pics, and or my eyesight. But to me the glass looks too short, as there is a clear gap between the top of the glass and the frame…? The blueish colour of the enamel top, in my opinion is just a pigmentation issue when it was enamelled, reason I say this is that you do see quite a few black reflectors that appear blueish, not quite as blue as that though. Either ways it’s a very nice lamp and you should have problem getting it working, they are extremely robust and reliable.
Yes, it is shorter, but this is not critical on top, beyond the point of combustion anyway. More critical is how the glass is preventing the unwanted entry of air down below, for priming purposes. Hence the diameter is of more importance than the height, and a nice fitting glass within the circumference of the cage is better looking. What measuring I have done on these cylindrical glasses through the years, I have found heights fluctuating up to one centimeter or 10mm in difference.
That's an interesting comment, Mike, which set me wondering. The W&B factory in Halifax was certainly small - the bit I saw was anyway. On the other hand, despite Tilley having a 20 year start on W&B and lingering on for a further 10+ years beyond the end of production in Halifax, I wonder how the average annual output of each company compares, assuming we'll ever know, naturally. Tilley had the lion's share of the domestic market in the UK and overseas whereas W&B had the military / NATO contracts for virtually all of its lifespan. As an aside, it also made me realise that the Tilley pressure lighting company must be 100 years old around now, perhaps even this year. Somehow I doubt they'll be celebrating their centenary (assuming the current owners even know)...
David, I mean small as in physical size, R&D or spread of gamma, positioning itself in the market in a rather unassuming way. WW2 helped them to establish a healthy lamp production without too much fanfare, then Aladdin took over to convince the public of their product. As anywhere else in the field of paraffin pressure appliances, demand petered out in the 60's, but with the Army the cork on which W&B kept floating. So basicly a low profile all along, but with a quality product till the end. In all its simplicity or modesty perhaps, a company I feel sympathy for. As for Tilley, that still exists as a brand on the market, this might be all there is left: a name. From what I understand parts made in China are assembled somewhere in Britain. Just an enterprise, nothing to my mind that connects with the old factory. The lamp they 'make' does little for me, anyway.
I think Tilley are in Guildford, Mike - or thereabouts anyway. TILLEY INTERNATIONAL LIMITED overview - Find and update company information - GOV.UK (company-information.service.gov.uk) Now I can't read a balance sheet to save my life but my impression from the above is that they're not doing very well these days. Anyway, as you suggest they're the rump of what once was, simply assembling bought-in parts from overseas and assembling them as demand occurs. I suspect they're selling mainly spare parts now, mainly (crappy) vapourisers from the Far East.
Hi. I recently bought this lamp locally (near Narvik, Northern Norway), from a collector. His interest seemed to be in Petromax, though. I also got some incomplete Petromaxes and a small Ditmar Maxim in a sorry state. So, I have no knowledge of the Bialaddins whereabouts during its 75 years of life. Obviously, the glass may have been replaced under this time. I have contacted the seller for any information/history he might have on the Bialaddin. Will post any new insight here. Great feedback from all of the commenters above! Håvard
