The other day I responded to an ad for free stuff from someone clearing a house locally and went along to collect a couple of very rusty “hurricane” type lamps. The lady gave me a box which also included a very clean looking Vapalux 320 which I have posted about in a different thread. The first lamp is quite an unusual design and is missing its burner. It has four flat glass plates one of which is red which makes me think it might be a nautical lamp to designate port side of a ship. It is obviously steel rather than brass though. The other is quite a basic hurricane lamp I have seen something similar on the Bay of E described as a Tower-Lite WW2 naval light but which has additional protective rings around the glass which this one lacks. Original TOWER LITE 1943 WW2 Royal Navy Minesweeper Oil Paraffin Lantern Lamp | eBay Any help identifying and/or background on these lamps would be appreciated - my plans are to clean them up a bit and paint them. Many thanks, LKO’R
The first one is interesting. Being steel I would not expect it to be from a boat/ship. You never know though. Are there remnants of galvanising under the hood? It looks like the side with the red glass is a door to give access to the burner and to change/remove the red glass. Could it be railway or maybe roadworks? It also looks like it would be fitted with a tank and burner like the ones used in roadworks lamps.
Well one thing the eb$# ad does show is the marking underneath the second lantern. So if you look underneath it will show or not. The first one : clean it up and look for a mark. If naval it would be marked.
Thanks folks. No markings on the base of either lamp although the more conventional one has “British Manufactured” on the top of the glass. There is an oval stamping on the square lamp but very corroded. The best I can make out is possibly a “1918” - I suspect the lettering will disappear if I rub it down for painting. Possibly some galvanising under the lid and slots to slid a burner in - something like this? If the “1918” date is correct then perhaps this a cheap WW1 marine light made from steel rather than brass as an economy measure given that ships both naval and mercantile were not lasting as long as they might in normal conditions?
If you take a good photo with some side lighting (similar to your second photo), change to grey scale and play with contrast, you can sometimes read what it says. As you say, it will probably disappear when cleaned. That's pretty much what I was thinking of. You could be right about the economy measure for a marine lamp, but I wouldn't expect a port light to have the clear panels on all the other sides.
What is the definition of a port light? I do see a wooden handle so it was made to carry around. As a ship navigational light it would have at least two point of fixing a rope to it, one to keep it in the air and one to prevent it from bouncing around.
The “port light” was just a guess because of the red glass on one side - on the basis that ships are supposed to display green and red lights at night. No idea whether the red or clear glass is original or whether either or both have been replaced. The overall design if the light looked a bit like this rather fancy brass ships cabin/bulkhead lamp on the Bay of E. WW2 1941 Bulpitt & Sons Brass Ships Cabin Bulkhead Oil Lamp Maritime Nautical | eBay Just trying to make sure I’m not ruining anything of significance before cleaning it up.
Had a bit of a fiddle with the “hurricane” lamp and under the grease and rust found a makers stamp. “The Theodore Wakefields, Birmingham, British Made” Found a similar lamp on the Bay of E but has extra protective bands around the glass. Not sure whether mine has lost them - no obvious signs but will investigate further. The Theodore Wakefield Birmingham British made oil lamp Vintage | eBay
Thats a royal navy lamp of a 19th century pattern, started off with candles before later becoming oil fitted, they are nice military lamps, 1918 makes it a ww1 example.
@kettle Thanks for that info - have been having a go at cleaning off the rust but the markings are no clearer.
If you are brave, a trip to lidl, a pot or three of lime/lemon juice and a pot of bicarbonate of soda. Put lamp in a plastic bag, add lime juice, put in a bucket, add hot, not boiling water to bucket, hot acid treatment, a few hours should do, but check, then, out of bag and into a base mix, then scrub off all the muck with a toothbrush and clean water.
