I, too, would like to express my undieing interest in the lamp at this juncture Not rare as such, just uncommon. Nice find! Alec.
I know we don't do valuations here and that's why I didn't ask. It is for sale but the asking price is $400 USD. It would need to be pretty special for me to go that high. If you are willing to offer advice but don't want to break the valuation taboo please contact me offline. I would appreciate any guidance. Thanks all, RW
...Flippin eck, only just discovered this type of lamp existed this very evening by way of a mad website by T.Marsh esq, that i have also newly discovered and was thinking, ...'Phew! there's a lot of stuff to be going on with?'.. ....and 'Cor! that's a dinky little Tilley, bet they're rarer than a rare thing with rare hollow wire Primus generator rare things on it'.. ...tum te tum...so then i logs back in 'ere and what happens??? ...
We don't do valuations here because we don't know what it's value is - there are too many variables to be considered, many of them dynamic. What it's worth is what someone is prepared to pay at the point of sale. Only they know what that amount is... See the book I'm reading in my avatar? - you need one of those...
David, what is the book? Obviously a Tilley reference, but I would appreciate details. I'm always up for more reference material. I both understand and support not providing valuations. It is a common practice on most of the collecting forums I frequent. Being a yank I don't often come across Tilleys in the wild. In fact in the 100 or so lanterns I have only 3 are Tilleys, a pair of battered 246s and a new in the box FL6. The only thing I've been able to discover about the X458 came from Neil's example here. So I gather it was an export model, therefore rare in the UK. How common are they in the US? did they make tens of thousands? thousands? hundreds? ten or less? I was really hoping more for info on the lantern and how long or much it was produced, then I could make a better estimate of its value to me. I have no intention of buying it to resell (at least not for another 20-30 years) but I also don't want to pay $400 for a lantern that should sell for $200.
Reese The book is Jim Dick's "Tilley: the versatile vapour lamp" You can get it on eBay sometimes and I The Base Camp still has some copies: http://www.base-camp.co.uk/tilley.html Cheers Tony
In the UK, Neil has one and, I think, another collector here. It's probably safe to say there's a small handful. As for the US, I'd venture to suggest it wasn't a big seller and obviously, fewer will survive. That's supply dealt with. As for demand, every serious Tilley/lantern collector would be more than happy (ecstatic, some of them!) to have one of those in his/her collection. I've seen the day when I'd have been reasonably happy to part with £275 ($400) for it but some would say I've got more money than sense*. I'd baulk a bit at the full price and try to chip him down as far as I could, but I wouldn't want to lose it for a few quid. Where's he got the figure of $400 from? Is he just flying a kite, hoping someone will pay that but prepared to accept much less? You need to go and find out! * less sense than money is probably nearer the mark!
Possibly better to think about opportunity cost rather than the actual cost - You can buy some very nice lanterns for $400USD! So if you already have a collection this might be an interesting addition, but is it a good bet for someone starting out? Personally I'd never buy it as it is quite an ugly lantern, isn't it?
No, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, surely. And there's more to beauty than mere outward appearance...
on my wish list too,am looking hard,it seems they were marketed for export only and quite rare here in the uk.
This is the Tilley "Flounder Lamp". Never sold in the UK so as David says pretty rare here. They were sold in the US in the late 1950s and early 1960s and marketed by Thacker in Florida. It will have a date stamp in the base plate. I don't know how many they sold but Tilley was never big in the US so I guess not many, probably hundreds rather than thousands. They actually don't turn up there much either and are always expensive. Worth is subjective. If I didn't already have one the price would not matter. You have to ask yourself two questions, first can you afford it and second will that price be important to you in ten years time or will you have any regrets. ::Neil::
i believe Tilley sold a lot more to the far east,most of which was under colonial rule still or in the state of cross over,i am told thailand is the place to find these easily,now all i need is a thai contact that isnt too pretty as to cause the wife to be suspicious! lol
I have never seen any for sale out of Thailand last time I looked there were none shown in the Thai Blades web site. I believe a few have been found in Aus. ::Neil::
Thailand is a land full of rare lanatrens and lamps. Look at the pictures of the collectors meetings. Korea is booming af for buying. But as always what is at your place a normal lantern can be a rare one oversea.
I've only seen one for sale, I had no idea of pricing, but I knew the second I saw it that I had to have it in my collection. Now it sits happily on a shelf above my head. It would appear I haven't posted mine in the reference gallery, but perhaps these action shots will get your juices/cravings flowing. [url=http://0flo.com/index.php?threads/8352
David, Neil and all the rest of you - thanks for helping me with this. The lantern is now safely in my garage. It wasn't cheap, but substantially less than the asking price. It's a bit rough, several chips in the vent, a crease in the reflector, but all the bits are there and I think it will clean up nicely. The icing on the cake was when I got there the seller says "I've got this old Coleman stove if you're interested." It was a Coleman 426 no letter, which dates it to 1949-50. As I'm overly fond of three-burner stoves it came home with the Tilley.
That is the older vent with a two air tube burner. Later versions have the more normal Tilley three tube burner. It should have a date stamp in the base plate. Nice score of a rare beast. Well done. ::Neil::
