I was given this 1950 Coleman 238B yesterday by a very kind gentleman and drove through to fetch it from him at his beautiful home outside the little coastal town of Hermanus. On inspection, I noticed a few differences between this one and photos of other 238B's: The collar reads "generator no. 237-299" There is no riveted instruction plate on the collar. It has a standard Coleman 237 generator It has a spirit cup identical to the Coleman 249 It has no steel plate inside the frame base It has a ceramic burner of the Petromax type. Has anyone here encountered these variations on a 238B? I believe that the differences originated in the factory and that the lamp was not modified later. The photos are "as found". I have started cleaning the parts but it will be some time before it is all reassembled. I'm currently having some difficulties uploading photos, and will try again later. In the mean time, here is a link to a series of photos I have posted on CCF: http://www.colemancollectorsforum.com/post/gifted-238b-questions-7835804?pid=1290148726 -Phil
I own a 238B, my frame, frame rest (collar) and burner cap are completely different. And this looks like a factory job. That is very unusual. Dan MacP
South Africa does turn up some interesting Coleman types. This is one I was not aware of and has to be a fatory made lantern because only the fatory would have made a frame rest with the 237 gen embossed in it. You have what is right now a unique lantern and it wants careful preservation. ::Neil::
Thanks, Neil. Surprising news that there are no other 238B's known with this base plate and generator. Greg from CCF has a 238B of which the generator type on the collar has been re-stamped from 237 to 238B: Better view of the different base plate:
I don't have any technical info on it, but I want to comment and say that you have found yourself a beautiful item. I love the large lettering on the collar. Fantastic find. Lucky you! Shane
