Very pleased with my latest acquisition. A 1907 Dietz King Fire Department lantern. A bit of a rarity on this side of the pond. it needs a bit of work. The burner was in bits when it arrived but I’ve fixed that. There are some stress cracks in the brass font skin and some leakage from the steel inner font. ( I’ve got some sealant in the font to sort that out hopefully.) It needs a small bail wire replacing at the top but I just need some brass wire for that. It came with a nice red embossed Fitzall globe which I might keep as a non burner and run it with a generic ruby globe to avoid it crizzling.
‘crizzling’? A grand acquisition Gary. I gather production of those continued to 1939, so perhaps you meant yours is a 1907 pattern example rather than of that early date?
Some red globes are prone to going cloudy with a crystallised surface in use. I’ve had it happen to a few of mine and it doesn’t affect them in any practical way but it does detract from the appearance. This is such a nice globe I wouldn’t want to spoil it that way. As for the date, I only have the patent mark to go by but one of my guides suggests that after 1913 they were mostly tin or silver plated. ( That could be open to interpretation though. )
Hiya that looks wonderful.! I've got a Hurrifume lantern that's seeping from the seam between the base and the upper part of the font. Any ideas of how I can cure this.?
If it is just seeping it can often be fixed by running superglue around the seam. Best when the seam is dry so that the liquid can get into the seam. Soldering is another method if you have the kit for it. If it is a bigger leak, SealAll and acetone are a way to go.
@Wayland, I'll give superglue a go. Next time we're out at the shops I'll get some. If that doesn't work I'll go for the soldering using proper solder with LEAD. We're spoilt for choice in that regard, as we've got 240V, 110V, 12V or even a gas powered one.!
Hi Gary, this is from the 1913 catalogue I do have in my archive: The same lantern in the 1926 catalogue: As you can see, there existed different styles of finish. Kind regards Jörg
An additionla information concernng the 'crizzling' of red globes. Woody Kirkman wrote me in 2010 this: Jörg, We call that "glass cancer" here. I have had red globes that looked perfect, and then as soon as I light the lantern the glass starts crystalizing towards the top. It then progresses down the globe and gets worse. It doesn't seem to be limited to globes of any one era as I have had it happen to old #0 Globes from the early 1900's as well as later globes up through the 1950's. It is not reversible. Best Regards, Woody
This is an article by Tom Johnson on Tubular Lantern Collectors FB group. “Crizzling” of Ruby globes. While heat is a component it is not the major cause of crizzling. Here is a summary of some research I have found on the subject: Crizzling happens as the result of too little stabilizer or too much of an alkali in the glass’ recipe. When the glass is exposed to a relative humidity that is too low (below 40% RH), the surface will lose moisture. If the RH is too high (above 55 %), droplets of moisture may be seen to form and these droplets are where the term 'weeping' is derived. This moisture is pulled out of the sub-layers of glass in an environment with over 50 percent relative humidity and condenses on the surface of the object. Repeated changes in humidity can be particularly damaging. The surface swells as it absorbs moisture, and shrinks as it loses moisture. In the earliest stage of glass disease, it may be possible to wash the glass to remove the surface alkali. The Corning Museum of Glass recommends washing with tap water (tepid, not hot) and a mild (non-ionic) conservation detergent. This should be followed by rinsing with de-ionized or distilled water, and careful drying to remove moisture. Careful washing can remove surface deposits, restore the appearance of clearness to the glass, and help to slow further deterioration. Once more serious damage has occurred, it cannot be reversed. Control of humidity and temperature is a possible intervention. Because crizzling results from the reaction of components of the glass with water vapor, controlling humidity and temperature can slow its occurrence. Fans may be used within a case to encourage the movement of air and minimize adsorption of moisture on the glass surface. Deterioration is more likely to occur in areas with restricted air-flow which allow moisture to remain on the glass. Chemical methods for retarding corrosion rates and stabilizing surfaces are being investigated. According to the research I have done keeping the glass within a certain humidity range is what is best for glass that is known to be suffering from this problem. Based on what I currently understand, my recommendation would be to not use any globe that you value but instead purchase a modern globe for lantern usage and keep your valuable globes for display only in the appropriate humidity range. And to be absolutely clear, what I mean by usage is using a globe in a burning lantern. What I do is whenever I want to burn a lantern I pull out the valuable globe and put in a modern globe.
Thank you for that Jörg. That confirms that all finishes were still being supplied after 1913 contrary to the guide book I have. Research like this really is so important and I value your contributions a great deal.
Hi Gary, In Germany, this glass problem only occurs with red glass manufactured in the 1930s. It only occurs when the lamp is in use, i.e. when the glass heats up. I am not aware of any cases involving blue, green, or yellow glass. Red glass from the 1920s does not have this problem either. A few years ago, Henk Kloostermann from the Netherlands was able to buy a batch of glass suitable for Feuerhand No. 260. All the glass looked perfect, but when it was used, it began to cloud over and then developed very fine cracks on the surface. Best regards, Jörg
The globes that I have had go bad were military surplus, of unknown age and provenance. I bought them in the eighties and they were not stored well. ( I was not really collecting back then. ) They worked well for many years but all crizzled at the same camp last year. They still work well enough and they are not on top grade lanterns so I will continue to use them but it must have been something about the conditions that fortnight for all 4 of them to have gone at about the same time.
