Hi lantern friends! Lots of pictures to upload, so to keep the thread coherent, please wait to comment until everything is posted. Thanks! Here's a fun one! This is a Coleman 237 Empire lantern that has been converted into a portable projector by The Society for Visual Education. Now almost 100 years old, The Society for Visual Education is still in Chicago producing educational equipment for schools as "Clearvue & SVE", though they are now owned by the Discovery Channel. These Coleman projectors were produced in the late 1940's into the mid 1950's, supposedly by three different manufactures. The Society for Visual Education, American Optical Company, and Terry Marsh's site says that the Charles Beseler Co. made one as well, but I've never been able to find a picture of one. These could project both slides and film strips, and were intended to be used in areas without access to electricity by government agencies, missionaries, and rural classrooms. They were pretty advanced for their day, and were likely expensive. Obviously, they had a pretty small market, and there just aren't a whole lot of them out there. The USIA appears to have used them, and the US State Department has one in their museum collection. Link 1 Link 2 I'm only aware of 4 or 5 other examples worldwide of this Society for Visual Education model, but there must be more bopping around. I sourced this one a while back from a projector collector in Brazil. He didn't know the history of it, but it is interesting to note that this example is unfired. Who would spend that sort of money on such specialized equipment, never use it, and leave it in Brazil? Maybe some US Government agency? The USIA was active at the time in Brazil. Maybe them? As you can see, these projector lanterns are quite tall. To allow the vent to sit higher, a brass extension has been attached to the top of the burner. It looks freakishly tall when it's naked, huh? With the taller vent, the lantern's heat exits much higher than on a usual 237, further away from the sensitive slides and filmstrips. The projector unit itself is removable, and could be fitted to a similar sized lantern. Check out the double-walled interior! I imagine this is to protect the slides and filmstrips from heat as well.
I'm 30 years old and grew up at the tail end of the projector era, but I do remember watching filmstrips on them in elementary school and at the library. BEEP! "Please turn the cassette over to side 2." This projector lantern is very durable and sturdy, but it does have one very serious flaw. Usually, a 237 bail attaches to the burner. However, with the vent mount extension, there are no longer any anchoring holes for the bail to attach to, so the vent takes the stress. As a result, the bail just sort of flops about in there, trying to grasp that brass extension bar. There is no evidence of any sort of anchor previously being there, and I believe it is the original design. I have asked one other owner if their's is the same way, but never received a confirmation. You can plainly see the wear and stress on the vent's bail mounting holes. It's still possible to carry it by the bail, but it's a bit precarious, and I get very nervous doing it. I carry it by the base whenever I move it, but since it's unfired and a very rare piece, this thing is a shelf queen anyway. (Back with the last post in a minute!)
The American Optical Company conversion utilized the factory 237 mounting points, but as a result, the distance between your hand and the bail is very short. I guess it'd be pretty hot to hold one while its in use, but ultimately, that feature is likely a better design since it's probably much more stable to carry. Is that a unique bail made for these or just a different year? I dunno. They just aren't as pretty as the Society for Visual Education model though, huh? I was a bit flummoxed as to what the little string coming out of the priming cup was, but then my friend Ken (Snwcmpr) figured out that it's the original and unused priming wick. Cool! Unfortunately, the valve knob cracked during shipping, but since this thing came all the way from Brazil, I guess a common and easily replaced part is the easiest casualty to stomach. Since there aren't too many of these around, I have not and will not polish this lantern. I have not even wiped it down with a damp cloth! In the pictures, the small pits in the nickel and frame look A LOT worse than they do in person. The lighting was just a bit unflattering when I was taking these pictures. It would polish up beautifully, but I'll respect it's history and leave it be. Needless to say, it will remain unfired as well. There's no date code stamped anywhere, so I dunno what year it may have been produced. 1949-ish sticks in my head from previous research, but I've totally forgotten what those indicators may have been. Does anyone have a clearer idea? And here it is next to a 242C. It's a big 'ol whopper, huh?!! The carrying case is long gone, but everything else seems to be complete! Welp, hope y'all enjoyed getting a good solid look at one of these, and if anyone has any further information about them, I would LOVE to hear it! Thanks so much for reading, and happy lamping!
What a nice contraption. I like it It almost looks like a weapon or something from a submarine (I find weapons and submarines cool). Claus C
Thanks so much gang! What a bizarre lamp, huh? When it arrived, I was so excited to try it out, (just once at least) and was pretty bummed when I found it was unfired. Ah well... Glad y'all enjoyed it! If anyone has any other information to add about these, I would LOVE to hear it! Thank you!
This topic is interesting and the friend who opened it has not been seen for a long time. I have two flashlights, Coleman 237-299, used for this purpose. I know that it was used as a projector thanks to the long brass rods that other 237s do not have. It has no caps or globes, but it does have the original Coleman iron and sheet metal heat and light shield. It is obvious that it was used for projector purposes. I lit the dirty one, it gives a solid and strong light. If there are friends who write here in the form of questions and answers, I will follow them.
I thank you. No, these are rare pieces. I have seen a few of them for a long time as a result of my search. I have neither seen the same nor found the parts in my own country. There are 237 available on social media, but none are used as projectors. I saw one on ebay and it was selling for a very high price. I also saw it here, but I haven't seen it anywhere else. I'm missing parts, but what's important to me is that they burn. Just adding fuel is enough for them to burn, and they burn very easily.
