Who should be the 'Hoover'ofPressure Lamps

Hi all,
Over the last few months I've become just a little obsessed with British pressure lamps. (They get to you like your Hornby trains from your childhood.)As you scan Ebay you can't help to notice 'Tilley' is synonymous with pressure lamps...everything is a Tilley even if it isn't ! But do they deserve this fame? Or is it just longevity that has earned this for them? What about Bialaddin..or another maker?Just a thought; I'd be interested in the views of the real experts.
Siatbury

 

I assume you restrict this question to UK only and eBay.uk in particular then?
In most of the world, Tilley isn't synonymous with pressure lamps at all.
Petromax is perhaps the most common generic name for pressure lamps.
And Primus in some countries, but that is of course much more common with stoves.

 

Hi Christer,
Yes point taken! I guess before I realised the wealth of makers I'd always called these lamps 'Tilley lamps'- I'm sure I'm not alone in the UK. On the UK E Bay Tilley appears next to any lamp
Siatbury

 

Hi,
Don't know about the rest of the world but from a British point of view or at least my point of view some similar items are
Tilley = lamps
Primus = stoves
Karcher = pressure washers
Barbour = wax jacket
Stanley knife = craft knife
What else?

 

Good title for the thread, I still refer to my vacuum cleaner as a 'Hoover' even though it's a 'Dyson'

 

Thanks - I think Christer has made this an international challenge ; is there a pressure lamp make out there worthy of being the Hoover of lamps. If as I suspect Tilley takes the UK crown??

 

More genericised trade names for the UK:

Thermos -vacuum flask
Tippex - correction fluid
Sellotape - clear sticky tape
Bulldog clip - sprung paper gripper
Jubilee clip - hose clamp
Allen key - hex key
Plasticine - modelling clay
Escalator - moving staircase
Kleenex - tissue
Velcro - hook & loop fastening
Lino or linoleum - solid/rubbery floor covering

You could also add petrol and petroleum, both of which were UK trade names at one time.

Terry

 

In Denmark it's Petromax for lamps.

On the general side:
Vaseline = petroleum jelly

 

My guess would absolutely be that Petromax must be the winner as the generic pressure lamp worldwide.

 

Biro = ballpoint pen...

 

I've set people off now..but who DESERVES to be the Hoover of pressure lamps? Reading posts, people are sometimes a bit sniffy about Tilleys post 1958.
Petromax since they stopped being German-made get a hammering....come to think of it so do Hoover! I think I'll go and have a drink
Happy weekend all

 

Absolutely not!







It was post 1956...

 

So its pork pie Tilley or nowt?

 

No, the X246 with the bent wire lugs for handle attachment is OK.

If it's an X246 with the clips on the globe cage for handle attachment, that signals the start of the decline...

 

Would it not be Coleman in the US?

... and I thought you'd been won over by that 246B you had at Newark David.

 

In the US, yes.
Just as Primus is the generic name for these in Sweden, and possibly Norway.
But worldwide means all around the globe, not specific countries.

 

In Australia Tilley is used generically for lanterns (including wickies sometimes). Primus for pressure stoves. Ditto hoover (but that's dying out with the baby boomers); biro, tippex (probably extinct); allen key; vaseline; escalator; thermos...

One exception to the British connection is "durex" for sticky-tape. I gather "durex" has the same meaning in the UK as "frenchy" in Australia.

Cheers

Tony

 

I probably shouldn't be joining this conversation as you called for expert opinions.

However, I may be able to offer you some advice that I was given to me by Christer some months ago. Since I was given that advice it has stopped me from pigeon holing myself to one or two specific areas of lamp collecting.

I was mainly interested in Tilley lamps and in Australia Kayen and Aladdin.

I wasn't really aware of just how many differing lamp makers and designs of lamps that were out there, despite being a member of this site, with all it's information and photo galleries.

It took a little while for Christers' advice to sink in. Once it did and I explored the site more and found lamps from all over the world that just wowed me.

There is nothing wrong with having a niche in lamp collecting I.E. British Lamps, Tilley Lamps, Storm Lamps etc.

Just don't be like I was, wearing blinkers, and be unaware of the other fabulous makes and designs of lamps, that are out there, before you fully commit to a niche.

 

Petromax or Primus in my book.

 

That could have been a regional thing. Before I was introduced to the multitude of lamps all over the world, I used the odd Coleman lamp for camping. The people I always talked to refered to them as pressure lamps and I didn't know the name Tilley existed.

 

8 months ago, I hadn't heard of Tilley.

 

Nor I, Petromax!

 

Matty

Do you use the word "port" to mean a suitcase?

... Because, that is one of the most "regional" words of my generation.

For those that don't know: port = porte valise.

Cheers

Tony

 

Yes, the word port was used to describe a suitcase.

 

Tony,

Don't be surprised I hadn't heard of Tilley. I hadn't heard of any lamp manufacturers.

I grew up in Sydney with a stable electricity supply.

 

Do you use Arris to mean Ars£

For those who don't know
Arris = Aristotle
Aristotle = Bottle
Bottle = Bottle and glass
Bottle and glass = Ars£

Would have made English lessons at school so much easier if they had taught us this.

 

On EBay, just seen a Milspec type American lamp listed as a Tilley lamp.
Also a X246 listed as a 171 pork pie table lamp.

 

I've always used the word port, but was under the impression it was a Queensland thing. Matty, If you used it in Sydney too, then it might be a bit more widespread than I thought. I always thought it came from the word "portmanteau".

 

I think "port" was a Queensland, and rural western NSW thing ( probably a Murray-Darling lingo from the shearers).

Cheers

Tony

 

I'd wondered if the words ports and porter were linked.

In the old days train porters would carry bags, suitcases etc, for passengers. I wonder if bags/suitcases got the nickname ports because porters carried them?