OK I have now got this beast in better looking condition and after some serious grief actually working. Made in 1924 probably around the time the patent was granted. Made for Aladdin probably by Blanchard although there is the possibility that Aladdin made it and bought in the Blanchard parts. I think that is unlikely because the patent was by Malcolm MacFarlane and he gives his address as the Blanchard company office. This is a rare beast and as far as I know the only one in captivity. The grief was because the fuel filter inside the tank was blocked and it is not a removeable part so I chopped off the end of the fuel feed and then bent it back down to the base. The pump check refused to work and on inspection I discovered the orifice was damaged so I had to drill it out and then clean off the new leading edge. I tried to fit the pricker spindle from another lamp in it but found they were not the same size so in the end used the old one with a canibalised pricker carrier and a new needle. It actually works too even with three cogs missing from the pinion gears. ::Neil::
Indeed, but with a glass in place, what was the manner of pre-heating? Was there provision for the sleeve above the glass holder to slide up revealing a spirit cup of sorts?
Very, very interesting Neil, and what a good fettle . Please bring that one to the next meet or two, I would love to see it sometime. Well done! Steve.
The burner inside there is a Blanchard 150cp and if you look at the main picture you can see the slot to the left of the pricker wheel where you introdce the meth. I should perhaps have taken a shot with the cowling removed. I will do that and a have revised the original post above. You will see the underside of the meth cup above the mantle which is standard Blanchard configuration. I was concerned when lighting this that the angle of the burner head would be a problem when filling the preheater cup but in the event it all worked fine probably because Blanchard meth cups are filled with asbestos wicking so you don't get much spillage unless you over fill. ::Neil::
Thanks Neil. Good to have got it working. Must have been one of the early milestones in pressure lamp design.
Excellent stuff, Neil! If I'd thought of it at all (which I don't really think I did), I'd have supposed Willis & Bates would have been involved somewhere down the line. That doesn't appear to have been the case at all. Clearly this lamp is a collaboration between Blanchard and Aladdin Industries. One presumes, therefore, that Aladdin Industries must have owned the brand-name or trademark 'Bialaddin' from the '20s and brought it back into use after the war. I'm now also pondering the exact nature of the agreement between Aladdin Industries and Willis & Bates from 1946 onwards. I'd assumed it was more-or-less an equal partnership (i.e. we'll make the lamps and you market them) but probably it was not. I assume now that Aladdin Industries simply contracted W&B to make lamps and lanterns for them which they sold to the public as Bialaddin - as they had previously done with Blanchard. For their part, W&B independently continued to produce Vapalux lanterns for the military. The fact that Bialaddin and Vapalux products were so similar probably wouldn't have occurred to the general public, who had far more weighty matters on the hands anyway. BTW - Interesting spelling of 'yachtsmen' on that advertisment...
I'm confused. What is the intended use of that lamp? I saw the ad that was included but I'm not sure how it would be used on a boat.
The advertisment is quite specific about how it might be used on a boat - as well as a host of other situations...
Hello David, the late Mr John Claypole informed me that the name Bialaddin was the telegraphic address for Aladdin UK., or at least part of it, Jeff.
The intended use is a little confusing as I would not normally expect a steel lamp to be used on a boat. Here is the text of the patent which at least shows what they were thinkiing at the time. ::Neil::
The original patent for the Blanchard lamp, GB190826920, with this type of burner is December 1908. It was slightly modified a few times since then but that is where it began. Not all that early perhaps but when you consider that they basically retained this original design for the next 60 years it is a testament to Arthur Blanchard's engineering expertise. ::Neil::
OK, I get the lack of a shadow due to the off-set location of the tank and maybe it's shorter than a donut style lamp. I guess if you had limited clearance below deck it would be nice to have something more compact. It is certainly unique.
Hi Ross Fab work 8) only seen these in pictures before & it certainly looks the part 8) a great restoration 8) Best regards Stu
Yes well some of th features are good but I discovered you can't run in on a table. After about five minutes the MDF work surface started to smoke underneath the mantle. Might be better with a globe but even then it would be risky to have it sat for too long in one place. This is perhaps the first design for this type of lamp. I am not sure if the Blanchard hand lamp predates this but I don't think so and that is of course what the Tilley Hospital lamp design copied. ::Neil::
Yes, I don't think you'd be able to run it on the floor/deck for exactly the same reason - despite what the patent says. I imagine it would be most suited to inside use as a wall-lamp in the galley or over the chart table for instance. I can't see it being much good hung from the ceiling because it would swing all over the place. No good outside either because of the steel tank. Still, somebody had to start somewhere...
No please!!! Don't say copied over on this forum. I've had enough of that word just recently and I can't take it any more. Those of you who are confused by this please see CCS.
