Coleman Model 1 (Type?) The 1923 and 1924 Coleman Model 1 irons were made by the Monitor Sad Iron Co. in Big Prairie, OH. They also made the same iron for some other companies. This one is not marked Coleman nor any other company name; only the Made in the USA. Who is to say it was not for Coleman prior to them getting some stamped; hmmm. "The Coleman iron was sold under the name Monitor. In 1923 the name was changed from Monitor to Coleman." [ref The History of the Coleman Company 1900-1989 by Herb Ebendorf.] The upper lid-plate was in very good condition without the usual excessive rust that has occurred over the century. The previous owner painted the handle from the presumed black of this model. In 1929 handles on other models, became that famous Coleman light blue colour. A wrench usually accompanied the iron to tighten the filler cap and to change the valve and the lid bolt but as it was missing I constructed one out of a ¼” drive socket and 5 mm Allen key. I use a standard wrench for the filler plug. Incidentally, the brass filler plug has a fine thread on it and a sealing lead washer. I replaced the washer with a new lead one which I made as 11 mm (ID) and 16 mm (OD). The iron had a healthy chunk of asbestos between the upper and lower lid-plates and I removed that and replaced it with two 1/16” thick gaskets of Garlock 2500. This kept the 1/8” spacing correct and is not critical because I am not going to light the iron with the top part on, if at all. The base plate, (Tilley calls it a sole plate), is 7.25” long. Later irons were pointy at both ends but not this baby. Cost was $7 USD which I thought was reasonable. As it is in nice condition I thought it might be of interest. Unsure though whether it should be in Other Coleman Pressure Products. The base with stampings C1 (or O1) - B1 and a number 3 The Upper and lower Lid-Plates Asbestos liner sitting on the lower Lid-Plate Home made replacement wrench. The 1/4" drive socket fits the iron's valve perfectly. The wrench in action. The filler plug with a new lead washer.
@Sedgman Hello Iain Another nice iron for your collection, how many do you have now ???? I scored the Peerman they had for sale with it, some people call us crazy. Cheers Mark.
@Sedgman I haven’t seen one before but it’s interesting to see as all the others ive seen seem to have the fuel tank at the other end do these get as hot as the tilley ones? thanks
Good question. On recent years I have only operated both pumped and gravity fed petrol irons. I have fired up a Tilley D.N. 250 a long time ago and recently overhauled a Tilley D.N. 250A but didn't fire it up as it is was in good condition. I know it is claimed the Tilleys run incredibly hot. Always a nice find. They made several models and the finish on them was pretty impressive. @Tony Press @ROBBO55 Thanks guys for the kind comments.
Apologize for the late response to this post. Excellent pictures and nice job on the clean up. This iron is Monitor's Royal brand and was never made for Coleman. My example of this iron has the green handle as well and the "MADE IN THE USA" is in the identical location as yours, but mine has "THE ROYAL IRON" on the top plate on the other side of the handle. I am wondering if yours have the words "THE ROYAL IRON" but the damage from the rust has made it impossible to cipher? Here is my unrestored Royal Iron.
Welcome to CPL @Straushaus Indeed, it is of great interest that the handle of mine appears to be the same colour as yours. I have rechecked and the stamping on mine is very clear and certainly no other stamping is on the opposite side which despite the rust would probably show something still, even if it was a letter or two. Certainly getting at the facts around this early model of iron is vexing. Monitor Sad Iron Company clearly sold these irons as theirs and stamped their models as you have indicated. However, they also produced them for other companies to sell as their own. The Coleman Products guide shows two of the Coleman Model 1 irons and one (Norman) appears to be stamped probably as follows: On one side MADE IN USA with Patent Pend'g and on the other side of the handle probably The Coleman.... The second photo in that same book shows a Coleman Model 1 also (Sellers) but it appears to have no markings but maybe it does. The Terry Marsh Lantern Gallery has a Coleman Iron Nbr 1 illustrated and it was found in Australia and is commented as follows: Coleman sold their No 1 iron for a short period in the mid 1920’s. This model was made for them by the Monitor Sad Iron Co., Big Prairie, Ohio. The stamping on the top plate of this model says The Coleman Iron, Made in the U.S.A., and Patent Pend’g. The iron was made by Monitor Sad Iron Company so I guess clearly there is a stamped Coleman 1 iron made by Monitor. Your iron, my iron and the Coleman 1 iron in the TMLG are all identical, excepting of course for the stampings and the color of the handles. There is also another iron identical to the above with the exceptions already mentioned and it is labelled: While this iron is stamped Thomas Mfg. Co., Dayton, Ohio, the patent number that is also stamped on the top plate was awarded in 1903 to John C. Lake, of The Monitor Sad Iron Co., Big Prairie, Ohio... Herb Ebendorf in his book, 'The History of the Coleman Company 1900-1989' says that: Coleman got into the iron business by buying its gasoline irons from one of the pioneer manufacturers, The Monitor Sad Iron Company...The Coleman iron was sold under the name Monitor. In 1923 the name was changed from Monitor to Coleman. So the question is not whether these irons are different (as I believe they are the same), apart from the stamping and the color of the handles, but did Coleman initially sell some of the Monitor irons with just Made in The USA on them unitl the aboove mentioned name change. In the absence of any manufacturer on mine then I tend to ask the question then who did they produce it for? In any case at the very least I have the physically correct iron matching what Coleman called their model 1. However I am always keen to learn more about this early model but there is not a lot of resource material around. Thanks for raising this topic and I do hope you can add further to this discussion. Could you also add a picture showing the name and its location on yours so I can check mine with a magnifying glass at the correct location. PS It would have been really good if Coleman had placed one of their brass badges with the model on it like on the Model 2 and 3. PPS I like it that you have the proper wrench too.
Well, I cleaned up the Royal iron to get the recent picture. Thanks for the motivation! And I also took comparison pictures between The Royal Iron and the Coleman Iron and there are some differences. First here is a picture of "THE ROYAL IRON" that you asked for. Here is a comparison picture between the Coleman #1 USA iron and The Royal Iron. Arrows point out the obvious differences. The Coleman #1 Canadian (PATENT PEND'G) and Thomas' Faultless iron are pictured to show they are identical to the Coleman #1 USA iron. This picture is a comparison between The Royal Iron and an identical Monitor iron. Also is a close up of the Monitor iron top plate. I hope you find these pictures useful. And to reiterate what you already said, all of these irons pictured came out of the Monitor Sad Iron Factory. This is their 1st factory. So, to get back to your iron . . . . You brought up an interesting question. If Coleman did sell irons from The Monitor Sad Iron Company prior to having Monitor make the Coleman irons, what would that iron look like? Did Coleman ever sell a Monitor badged iron as Mr. Ebendorf mentioned? If the words "THE ROYAL IRON" were never on your iron then I would assume that it was made for other retailers to sell and pass off as their own, and maybe Coleman was one of them? I have more literature to look through as I will now work on getting years of production for these irons.
Thanks for this extra information. It is very useful. I now have a location on where the stamping is on the Royal and I asked for that because the only thing I can see on mine clearly or with a magnifier is an angled stroke which could well be the right side top of a letter Y so maybe mine is stamped, but I will now have to compare it and knowing where the letters are may well help me see perhaps another letter or two. You mentioned a Canadian model Coleman 1 above but my understanding from the Coleman book is that the Canadian irons only started around 1940 with the 4A models. A very interesting subtle difference between the Monitor, The Royal and then the Coleman irons. Puzzling why such a small change was made to a significant casting. I wonder what the casting numbers are in the base of the Coleman and Royal/Monitor irons. Great photo of that barn, er factory.
I will follow up with more info soon. I am not sure why that building has the Monitor info on it. I am wondering if it was a building on the factory grounds? It's cool anyways! My understanding is that Coleman Canada made a #1 and a #2 and that you can tell it's Canadian because it doesn't have "MADE IN USA" on it. I have a Canadian #2 in the box and the box tells me it was made in Toronto. Can't prove that the #1 was made in Canada but pretty sure I read it somewhere that it was.
@Straushaus I have just compared the top part of the Y and it is in the correct position opposite the E on the other side. I can now just make out the word THE but nothing else so clearly the iron is The Royal Iron which is great as I like to know exactly what I have. However, its Coleman mates Nos 2 and 3 are now saddened. I'll now be on the lookout for a Coleman stamped Nbr 1. So will be nice to confirm re the Canadian start date and what the sole plate in the Coleman 1 is stamped/embossed compared to the Royal as to whether a totally different item or just a variation within the family. Thanks for your input, it has been helpful. Edit: Crossed with your response above. Thankyou
