Hi all, This is an Optimus N°300 from the mid 1930s. The lantern arrived complete with the original glass, the spirit cane is 12 mantles in a small Swedish army case. This Optimus N°300 is the first in my collection. This lantern is well built, solid, it has been used a lot but remains in perfect condition. She asked for a good cleaning, all the parts are present a N°3 is engraved on the needle and a N°3a on the ceramic burner. the glass is interesting, it was made in a former French glassworks which was located in the north of France in Folambray in the Aisne, it ceased all its activities in 1952 following a very hard wage strike, the director of the factory and the owners have thrown in the towel. This glassworks also made glasses for Coleman lanterns. The long history of Folambray glassware is here:histoire du village de folembray Clicking on Sibore glass opens a page on the various items made with this borosilicate glass, including glass for the Coleman lantern and others. Thank you for sharing. Best regards, Titoo. View attachment 116749
That is in very nice condition. Well done. The glass is interesting as I have never seen one before where it actually says Sibor. I have seen them with "Made in France" only. I am also interested in the box. Does it have any writing on the outside?
Yes the three crowns marking is absolutely Swedish Military. Very intersting and such a lovley example of a 300. The glass is interesting too.
Hello, Very interesting story on the glass ! i for sure have Swedish lanterns with French made glass globes. one Primus 1020 comes to mind.
That's a nice old lantern and in such great condition too. Almost mimicking the Petromax 826 from the same era. Some different features on the various parts might sometimes make it even more attractive. I'm kinda curious on the 'SIBOR' marking on the globe too. I'm sure it'd have nothing to do with the SIBOR coating of a more recent development. It might refer to an inventor in the field of sodium-aluminium- borosilicate glass from the 1920s by the name of Sibor Google Patents However, I'm not too sure about that.
I thank you all for your interest. I will try to answer your questions. Nils, I present to you a series of photos of the small transport box. the body has been repainted without taking care, it is visible on the lid that there was an identical inscription Lykta exp but carefully written in baton script. The new inscription made roughly with a black marker. the hinges and closure were originally painted black and then covered with military green paint. The interior is coated with a rosin-based alcohol varnish with a strong smell of resin. The leather handle is held with copper rivets. MYN, I don't think it has anything to do with this glassware. I send you exactly what is said on the document of the Folembray glassworks at the time: SIBOR glass. A subsidiary of glassware was launched in 1920 and seemed set to be adopted in laboratories and pharmacies. It is a glass that uses a new composition resistant to sudden temperature differences. This type of glass originated from the SIBOR Verrerie de Romant company in Switzerland. BORosillicate Industrial Company. Let's not forget that the inventor father of borosilicate glass is Otto Schott, he created borosilicate glass in 1897. The Duran trademark application was requested by Schott & Gen Jenaer Glas Jena in 1938 and obtained in 1944. Currently the Duran glass brand is owned by Duran Wheton Kimble life sciences and is manufactured under license from Schott glas Mainz AG Germany. Mouth-blown manual and semi-mechanical actions have been done at Duran dd in Pula, Croatia since the mid-1990s. Andrew T. Thank you for your addition of a fantastic picture with a glass for Optimus N°300 SIBOR.
Thank you @Titoo That's what I found too. Just wasn't too sure if Sibor was the name of the inventor himself or the company in Switzerland.
Thanks for the photos. That's a box I havn't seen before. I'll have to keep an eye out for one in the future. I'm sure I have heard of Sibor glass in connection with Radius as well. I wonder when they produced glass for Optimus (and Radius) and how long for?
