Dears, Please find below quite unusual lamp. It is marked on the found EFAR 608 300cp and Petromax 826. Steel frame, pump and green enameled hood. I read the date as 10 41 = October 1941, but I would be grateful to verify me. The lamp undergone very rough sandpaper “restoration” in the past. It was simply devastated, in not working condition with snake shaped generator and everything very forcefully joined together. It was cleaned, fettled and serviced by me. New set of Petromax 250cp nipple and needle installed. Works fine with some unknown, long, cheap Chinese mantle. Petromax glass globe provided by me from Optimus lamp fits here better. Hope you will find it interesting. All the best, Piotrek
EFAR stands for F.R. or F. Racek. He was a an importer and distributor of many European Pressure lamps and stoves, who set up his company in India. I think Bombay or Mumbai. Can't remember well but I think he was an Austrian. His trade was mostly active during the years between 1925 and WWII.. He might have a certain partnership with the E&G company. You might be able to find more accurate info in the forum's library. Your lantern might have seen much use and likely sold in India. However, it was still made in Germany.
Thanks @MYN . I have already read whatever I could find. The unusal is that, apart for EFAR there is also Petromax 826 stamped on the tank. There is no other such an example in the Gallery. Lamp was found in very old house in northern Poland. I my opinion it might never left Europe. Due to the WWII it was send “on Russian front” instead of India. But we will never know.
Most EFAR 608-Petromax that I've came across on internet and elsewhere do not have the green and black enamel on their hoods and frame cage. Yours might have once appeared like this one?: EFAR 608 / PETROMAX 826
Congratulations Very interesting lamp.I think you analyzed everything correctly. It's a shame it never reached India.
Imports of the Petromax/EFAR from Germany to India had basically ceased during the War. It was the German Reich back then. The colour and finish denote the military. This EFAR was probably never meant for India during that period.
Thank guys for taking interest in this lamp and all comments. @MYN I have seen already that other lamp on ebay. It has a different found - with useless blanking plug just like some Optimus 300 for example. It is interesting to see Petromax 826 with such a blanking plug My lamp has no such a blanking plug and was approx. 5 times cheaper Lamp example just like mine you can see here on Polish forum: Efar 608 - Petromax 826
I like the basic older Px826 design/construction. Fuel pickup is central on the fount. Preston loop original without central rib. In particular, I prefer the J-tube with the two flat locking nuts to hold it in place at the inner hood's bridge as compared to the modern Petromax. Many heavily-used Petromax lanterns suffer severe loss on the nickel plating like the one you have. In the one with blanking plug, I suppose it was originally intended for a pressure gauge. Maybe they figure that such a gauge wasn't really necessary on an 826 and put a blanking plug on the remaining founts. I do have an older 1930 Petromax (not EFAR) with such a gauge...with the D.R.P. inscribed on the indicator plate.
- I fully agree. - let's just post it in the Gallery. There is only one folder for the whole Petromax lanterns, which is quite surprising since I usually google for "Petromax" when searching for any pressure lamp (outside of USA of course).
I wouldn't do that yet. It is missing the original fibre pricker control wheel. I had temporarily attached a newer(Altena production; 50s, 60s) wheel on for completeness sake. Besides, it is still unfettled and not yet cleaned. I have stored it away at the moment .
