Hello everyone, I present to you a beautiful example of the Phoebus lantern No. 645 of 300 cp. This one comes from Bulgaria, it arrived drowned in a very greasy black soot, the globe was all black like varnish. This situation made me hesitate a lot to acquire it. Finally I found a compromise on the price with the seller to compensate for the disappointment of the bad surprises. You can observe the state of the ceramic burner which recalls the remains of the arrival of the lantern. Finally after a chemical soaking in a 12 liter tank it came out extinguished as on the first day. The globe which was intact underwent a gentle treatment to return as originally the writings reappeared with the greatest pleasure. This lantern has two peculiarities: a very rigid cage with twelve bars and a black needle control of the old style, but it should be noted that this one is made of injected black Bakelite and not of stamped Pertinax resin. Since 2016, I have had another Phobus No. 645 DE 300 cp with a Pertinax needle control. A few notes from Jörg Wekenmann: The Phoebus factory in Vienna still belonged to Josef Rosenthal in the early 1930s. It is however possible that J. Rosenthal had to sell his company after the annexation of Austria to the German Reich (Anschluss): Anschluss - Wikipedia Post-war brochures show that Phoebus werke in Vienna now belonged to the company A.Novak & Co. It will apparently disappear in the 1990s. Regards, Titoo.
In my opinion a pre-war lantern. Unfortunately, these often suffer from a weak tank bottom that bulges easily. I have never seen the twelve posts of the globe cage on a lantern. It is possible that they serve the same purpose as the two rings on the corresponding Ditmar lanterns as they seem to be factory-made. Congratulations on the rare lantern and the excellent restoration!
Tony, Conny, Martin, Thank you for your interest in this lantern. The bottom of this one is not domed or cracked, it seems to be in good condition but it must be taken into account that this lantern seems to have been used very little. Indeed the brass used on this series is thinner than other manufacturers of the same period who switched to steel. This is surely due to restrictions on metals during the war and I also think to lower production costs as much as possible. My other Phoebus No. 645 is in a very fragile but complete condition, it has been sleeping discreetly for many years on a shelf. Dear Martin, thank you for your contributions which are always interesting. The twelve bars of the cage are factory originals, I think they are surely there to protect the glass globe as best as possible if you look closely at the photos with a smartphone you can easily zoom in on the photo of the lantern placed on the floor seen from above, they are all stamped and nickel-plated in the same way. Here you have: International lantern manufacturers Q – S On my friend Terrence Marsh's site an example with apparently eight bars instead of four but for a Phoebus model lantern number 635 of 200 cp, Neil specifies that this lantern has a Bakelite needle control. Regards, Titoo.
@Titoo Perfect restauration as always This rustic-looking Phoebus has its very own charm. Due to the "Made in Germany "and the non-ferrous metal ban of 1941,the age can be narrowed down to 1938 to 1941.On the bottom of the tank it says T4.I don't know what it means,but I suspectthat Phoebus had his own code made up of letters and numbers.
Congratulations Patrick ! 2024 is the year of Phoebus for you and myself: 645 for you, 631, 625 for me, and ....surprise !!! 621 in few days
The sturdy cage makes it not only beautiful but also powerful. It has been brought back to life beautifully. Congratulations!
I believe that you are not that much disappointed after all Surprises are a real fun factor in this hobby IMHO. Thank you for posting that interesting lamp. all the best, Piotrek
