Today I got this Italian Thermolux. Unfotunately, the original glass cylinder did not survive the transport. It was completely unprotected. @Mackburner Have you already listed this brand ?
Hi Reinhard, a pity to see the glass is broken, but it is certainly a really rare lantern. Neil has not yet listed this brand in the CPL. I have not yet seen this brand on the glass either. Regards, Martin
Well, and it looks like it was glass made by Murano in Venice famous for chandeliers and vases etc - assuming it is the same Murano ? how very sad..
A great find and perhaps you could glue the glass back together and keep it as an example of that brand, not to use of course, but for display, it's an idea anyway.
For shipping, I always ask the seller to wrap the glass in paper towel and put it back. This is enough to protect the glass during transport.
As Martin says I don't list this one. I will do so now of course and could you give me a close up image of the brand lable please. It's always nice to show that if possible. ::Neil::
I will clean the Thermolux now.There is another word under the word CRISTALLERA,but I can't ready it.
So as far as I can find out the orignal "Cristalleria Murano" (Murano glassware) ceased trading in the 60's. Murano island (venice) is still famous for glass but is now home to many small artisan businesses all using the word Murano. This translated/edited from the Italian Wikipedia: Located in Fondamenta Manin, it was known in 1882 as "Vetreria Venezia". In 1884, Baron Raimondo Franchetti was the sole owner and the company became known as "Vetreria Franchetti". After a period of association, Giuseppe Toso purchased the company and reorganized it under the name Cristalleria Murano. In 1902, the company had 500 employees. At the end of the 1940s, the great crisis caused by competition from the nascent plastics industry began and the Murano glass factory closed definitively in the 1960s. Picture of the glassworks:
Gluing glass via a UV adhesive will give an invisable glue line. Ive used this to repair glass furniture and mirrors in the past. Be sure to use the special "sun Glasses" for the UV exposure if doing this. Best, Brian
@steerpike451 Yes,I think you're right. @Fireexit1 Thanks for your interesting research. @Ole Larson Thanks for the tip. Here are more pictures of the bizarre construction.I had to heavily solder the tank on the top and install a new graphite packing on the bottom of the linkage. Everything is now 100% tight,but the lamp doesn't light up properly yet.
I would think this is a very uncommon lantern, probably rare. Its unfortunate that the rare Murano glass globe came broken. Seems to be working again With undoubtedly worn down parts, it can be tricky to get it back to peak burning performance.
Now the Thermolux ligths perfectly. The large clay burner lacked length.At first I thought that might have to be case because the mixing chamber is so flat.But then I used another clay burner.That was the main cause.I removed a few stubborn soot deposits in the intake tract. The Thermolux is very loud.The glass cylinder is the same size as that of a Petromax 350/500cp.But the lamp is only as big as a Petromax 821/827.The lever is used for jet cleaning.The preheating bowl is difficult to fill.If you want to remove the hood you have to pull the knurled screws outwards like with many Hasags.The large clay burner is unusual for the small lamp.Carburetor coil,2oo or 250cp jet and clay burner are of German origin. To be honest,I didn't think I would be able to get the lamp to light up so well on the second attempt.
It is surprising what a difference a clay burner can make. Very well done Perhaps the fuel and air is better mixed on the second attempt.
@MYN It wasn't surprising to me because I saw that more than one thread was missing.And the rest were wobbly.
If it was loose and wobbly, then it should be obvious. This lantern is not commonly found. The spare parts would be difficult to find. Fortunately, some Petromax parts can be used as retrofits.
