Greetings, Friends, It's been a long whilst since I last posted here, but here is something that I hope is interesting to all here, and I hope, educational for me, too, as I don't know that much about the older lanterns. Recently, whilst working up around San Luis Obispo, CA, we spent our one day-off doing some enjoyable Stove Hunting, in several antique stores along the CA Coastal areas. Unfortunately, no stoves came to hand that day. BUT, three lanterns most certainly did!! In addition to a very neat old Bernz-O-Matic gassie lantern, I found two old Coleman offerings, and decided to score them all!! Not knowing that much about the early Coleman lanterns, I called two friends from CCS/CPL, John Stendahl, and Mike “Flivver” Murphy, for advice. Both men were very helpful, and with their information firmly in mind, here is what I bought. The first lantern was a Coleman Model L427, I believe, and it was made in September of 1925. It came with a few “warts”, including a dinged up fuel cap, an improper glass globe, and a wing nut instead of its original ball nut. But the price was right, at just $37, and I was quite tickled by the outboard pump on this lantern, so it came home with us. The second lantern, I found in the same store after having already bought the L427, and it was priced a bit higher, as it was an earlier offering from Coleman! Both John and Mike encouraged me to get it, even though the price was a tad on the “robust” side, and as I had not bought a stove, or lantern, for a while, I decided to do so. It turned out to be a 1920 Air-O-Lantern Model QL, and it had its original mica globe intact, too. Though the globe was a bit worn, it was the first one I had ever found in the wild, and so after a small bit of negotiation, I bought this one for $95. As both lanterns were in great need of new mica globes, I contacted Fred Kuntz, who is a real craftsman, and a perfect Gentleman, and ordered two of his excellent reproduction mica globs. Fred knew that my 1920 QL would need a narrow panel with pivoting access door, instead of the later sliding version, which the L427 would require. When my new mica globes arrived, which was in a very short time, I opened Fred’s package to behold two outstandingly made, and correct, mica globes, photos of which you will soon see!! So, without further ado, here are my two, new/old Coleman lanterns: Uh Oh! Reached my maximum number of photos! Sorry about that, and please stay tuned for the last few photos, and the end of my tale. Thanks, very much, and God Bless! Every Good Wish, Doc to be continued....
Part two, with the rest of the photos of my two new/old Coleman lanterns! And now, a few questions, if I may? What do you suggest I use for cleaning up the nickel-plated fonts? As both Q99 generators are passing gas, I don’t think I need to take these lanterns down to bits. I do need, however, to score a proper early ball nut for the L427 and will try to find such an animal, if possible. The dinked regulating knob on that lantern could stand replacement, but it still works, and I may have to just think of it as “use patina”, or a “war wound”, and use it as is. If you can think of anything else I need to know about these Old Timers, I’d appreciate hearing your suggestions. I would like to build a wooden box to house this pair of early Coleman lanterns, as they most certainly deserve such protection, whilst taking them to events to use! I send humble and heartfelt thanks to John and Mike, for their excellent advice and counsel, which helped me to realize that both of these early Coleman offerings needed to come home with us!! And, I send my sincere thanks to Fred Kuntz, as it was a real pleasure to do business with him, and I very much appreciate what he offers those of us who love the early Coleman lanterns!! His mica globes are fantastic, and VERY reasonably priced, too!! Thanks for checking out these Coleman Old Timers, and I look forward to reading any suggestions you might wish to share with me about these two Coleman light makers! I will also post photos of them in use, once I get them both up to speed. Thanks, again, for checking them out, and God Bless! Every Good Wish, Doc
Hi Doc its been a while since i posted on here. Well done Doc on a brilliant score, i love those little swivel hatches for lighting the lamps. You could try any metal polish to clean up the nickel work on your lanterns. But one of my favourite programs from the USA is American restorations, and a there was a question from Rick, which was what is the best way to clean nickel or chrome finish, and of the 4 answers the correct answer was screwed up aluminium foil and another medium which i believe was soapy water
HI, Mr Optimus!! It's great to hear from you, Brian! Thank you for your suggestion, and I'll most certainly see what AR recommends for such things. Like many older lanterns, the nickel-plating seems sound, but oxidized a bit, and I'd love to remove that oxidation and get them both polished to look as good as I am hoping they will work! Thanks, again, and God Bless, as always! Every Good Wish, Doc
Hi, Jeff, Nice to meet you, and thank you, very much! My wife, Sweet Bride, actually found the first lantern, and after I bought it, I stumbled upon the second, over one. Love it when such things happen! Thanks, again, and God Bless! Every Good Wish, Doc
Hi Mark, congratulations on bringing these two home! You mentioned in an email that you suspect that the Air-O-Lantern is 1919, and I agree. The lack of a baffle plate and the patent-stamped air tube are the clues there. The vent is a later embossed version, but nothing to get upset about. I would clean the fount with Simple Green (or similar) and a toothbrush, then use your favorite metal polish, whether it be Mothers, MAAS, Simichrome or whatever. The 427 pump leather is slightly smaller in diameter than the standard Coleman leather, you may have to modify what you have to make it work. I have a vintage wooden box that came with a 1919 Air-O-Lantern and a 1920-22 327 Quicklite, two pumps, and accessories, including mantles and used Q99 generators packed in a redwood chocolate box from the 20's. Maybe this could give you an idea for your box? Not to show you up, but just in case you're curious as to what's in the box, here they are. The 327 looks to have been the one more used (or at least abused), although the A-O-L was missing its mica. That's another one of Fred's chimneys on the left: I guess I've never registered for this forum before!
Evening, John! Many thanks for the kind words, and your helpful information when I was first considering buying bothy lanterns. Much appreciated! I like your wooden box, quite a lot, and that is very much what I had in mind when thinking that this pair of lanterns needed some special protection and care. I'll get the lanterns going, first, then work on the box for them. As to the ventilator, the one about which you may be referring is the embossed vent for the 1925 L427. The ventilator for the A-O-L Model QL is plain, and is shown in the first few photos. I can take better photo of that, if you need to see it. Thanks for supporting my thoughts on this lantern being from 1919, instead of 1920. I had thought that it might be the earlier version, after talking to both you and Mike, but chose to err on the side of caution when I posted this thread. I'll see if I can change it to show the correct date. Thanks, again, and God Bless! Every Good Wish, Mark P.S. Here are some better photos of the actual vent from the 1919: I'm thinking this is the original ventilator from 1919. What do you think, John? Thanks, again!
Hi Doc. Good to see you writing here too. And what a pair of great looking lanterns! Congratulations. I had to move this out of the 327 section since it actually was about two lanterns of different models. Would you consdider posting each in their section respectively? That would be a great addition to our growing reference gallery. All the best, Christer
Morning, Christer, and All, I wasn't sure where to post this, as it did contain two different lanterns. I'd be happy to cut the original post up, and separate it into two sections, each posted in their proper places here at CPL. Might take me a few days, as we are currently having plumbing problems, and I just got some business work scheduled for the next few days. But, when I get both posted in their proper places, would this big post be deleted? How does that work, and what is the proper way to do this? Thanks, as always, for your help, and God Bless! Every Good Wish, Doc
Hi Doc, no this big post will remain as the general lamp discussion and polishing question it is. The discussion is already flowing, and more posts will surely come. Things here is exactly as over at CCS, meaning that the reference gallery with its sections ideally just host one lamp (stove) in each topic, though if in some occasions a couple of the very same model has been posted, even if we would have preferred that those also were separated. Just keep 'em coming, and thanks for any contribution in the ref. gallery. Cheers, Christer
Hi Doc: Glad the advice worked out, but where are the action shots. Show us the light. Hi John: Nice box and contents. Mike...
