Hi hmamahahma. I moved this to mystery lamps until we know where it's from for sure. You see, I'm not sure it really is an American lamp. I checked my Pressure Lamp Catalogue, and I wonder if it perhaps could be Belgian. Hopefully Neil, or anyone who knows, will help us out here soon.
Hi hmamahahma and Christer. I have catalogue page in my files with a Washington lamp from the Czech Republic; a Svetlo-Washington lamp. This lamp have similarities with the posted Washington lamp but I believe it has a different burner. /Conny
That's a nice page Conny, but frankly I don't see any similarities to hmamahahma's lamp there except for the name 'Washington'. If I get it right from my PLC, this guy Washington was a Belgian. Hmamahahma, does your lamp have a brass tag saying 'L. A. Washington' and/or 'S.A.B.' on it?
Those Washington Lamps in Thailand are Belgian. They are marked as L A Washington Bruxelles. In any case the Washington in the US was George Washington and the company name was the Washington Lamp Co NOT L A Washington. George was from Belgium although his parents were English. I believe L A Washington was either his father's or Uncle's business and they were the people who exported lamps out to the far east. Here are two of the labels from those Thai Hollow wire lamps. ::Neil::
I now know a bit more about George Washington and his lamps. George Constant Louis Washington was born in Kortrijk (Courtrai) West Vlaanderen Belgium 20th May 1871 to parents John William Washington and Marie Louise Tant who were married 15th July 1868 in Kortrijk . John William was born in Kingston upon Hull Yorkshire in 1844 and died in Guatemala City Guatemala in 1912. Marie Louise was born in Kortrijk 22nd May 1833 and died there in 1889. George was the oldest of 5 surviving children from the marriage; his four sisters were Elizabeth, Alice, Marie and Marguerite. After John’s first wife Marie died he married in about 1895 to Blanche Elizabeth Chargois born 14th October 1865 in Bruxelles Belgium and they had four children Clothilde, Adolphe, Robert and Leon. Blanche died 1st April 1928 in Shaerbeek Belgium. George’s grandparents were George Matthew Washington born 1810 and Alice Pattison born 1823. They were married in 1843 in Kingston upon Hull Yorkshire. I can’t find the family in any UK census so I assume they moved to Belgium before 1851. George married Angeline Céline Virginie (Lina) Van Nieuwenhuyse, born about 1876, on the 28th December 1895 and they emigrated to America aboard the SS Friesland arriving in New York 6 October 1896. George and Lina had three children, Louisa 1897, Irene 1898 and George Junior 1899. In the 1900 census George describes himself as an inventor and they were living in some style at 212 Howard Avenue Richmond New York with a total household of 6 family and three servants. In the 1910 census George now describes himself as a manufacturer in the Coffee trade. A smaller household now of 7 family with just one live in servant. From our point of view George then becomes of little interest although he became a major manufacturer of instant coffee and is generally better known in America as the Inventor of G Washington Coffee than he is for being an inventor of kerosene lighting. George died 29th March 1946 in Mendham New Jersey. George applied for about 34 patents between 1895 and 1926 although the last 8 are for cameras and instant coffee. The Belgian, English, French and US patents for lighting date from the earliest in Belgium 1895 to the last in the US in 1902. George and his wife arrived in New York in 1896 but his inventions date back at least a year before that in Belgium. It is therefore reasonable to assume that the La Washington Lamp Company in Brussels was based on George’s inventions and the lamp company is named for him. Quite what his involvement was with La Washington we don’t know but since the company survived and George was still inventing during his early years in America we can assume they continued to manufacture his inventions for at least a few years into the new century. George created the G Washington Lamp Company in New York but so far we have not found any paper on this company or found any examples of manufactured product. George became interested in attempting to produce Instant coffee in about 1904-5 after a visit to Central America. I assume that was actually Guatemala as we know the family had connections there and in fact his father John was probably living there because we know he died there in 1912. George sold the company and all its assets including patent rights to A.G. Kaufmann sometime before 1908. Adolph Kaufmann then improved on those patents and created the AG Kaufmann Company making lamps based on Washington patents. Sometime after about 1910 these were made as Powerlight Brand lamps. I assume the Belgian Company continued after George sold out of the lighting business in the USA. We don’t know how long they continued but examples of any product are rare and what does survive tends to be in an early style of lamps dating to within a few years of 1910. German occupation of Belgium during 1914 to 1918 was very heavy handed and a great deal of industry was dismantled and transported to Germany. It is almost certain that La Washington did not survive this action so it may be reasonable to assume the company did not survive WW1 and ceased trading around 1914-1915. ::Neil::
Nice to see this old post re-animated! I'd like to add a little something or 2. Firstly, there seemed to be a bit of confusion re the name of the company. It is not 'L A Washington', but 'La Washington', the 'La' translates as 'The' in English, so it would be "The Washington" in English. Secondly, it may be of interest to know that the Commander of Fort Liezele made notes on a ground plan of the fortress what kind of (searchlights?) lanterns were used and their position. One of the lanterns was a La Washington! I can only guess the Germans found good use for the lanterns after they invaded us in 1914.... Best regards, Wim
Yes it took me quite a while to realise it was La and not L A. I have always assumed that it was the German invasion that stripped out the Washington factory in 1914 and effectively ended the company. Such a shame because they were making interesting and effective lamps. ::Neil::
The inventor Washington was born 150 years ago in Kortrijk. We want to commemorate this in the city. Could I get a better scan of this document? Or any good quality of documants about La Washington? Thanks a Lot
The Société Anonyme "La Washington", Avenue de la Reine Nr. 183-189, Brussels, Belgium did survive WW-I. Emile De Wulf (°1865 Brugge †1926 Ukkel) was in 1921 "le Directeur de la Société Anonyme La Washington". In 1921 Emile De Wulf was domiciled in the municipality of Schaarbeek.
What document ? As far as I know there was or is a Washington lamp in the chocolate museum in Brugge. That is the other part of the museum dedicated to light/lamps.
