This is an Australian made Venus from around 1921/22. It has a Gloria look to it but it is not a Gloria. This is the glass that came with it but I decided not to use it in case it is not original and breaks with the heat. If I didn't have these newspaper ads I would be absolutely sure it was a homemade job. Just goes to show it is difficult to really tell what is homemade and what is not. A very easy one to get going. I emptied out the kerosene in it, replaced that with shellite, tied a mantle to it and whoooo. It got me wondering about the kerosene in it. Would it run on kerosene ??? Guess I'll wait for a nice day to take it outside and give it a go. I'd hate to set the place on fire.
Wow, another Australian light manufacturer, never even heard of this one. Thanks for sharing and well done in keeping history alive. Cheers Pete
That was an expensive lamp at the time. Was hanging the only way it could be used, surely that tank wouldn't be very stable. How does the size of the tank compare with the Tilley VL Anthony?
I don't know Jean. You'd better send a VL over so we can compare. Hanging as pictured is the only option.
@Anthony This is a very interesting lamp. Looking at the setup I think this lamp was made to use Shellite not Kerosene unless there's a preheater cup not pictured. If you want to try it on kerosene I'd try preheating the vaporizer with an LPG plumbers torch but I'm thinking once the heat is removed from the vaporizer it will not run very well and start having yellow flames. As, @Jean J, stated this was an expensive lamp for it's day so I'm thinking if one could afford getting this lamp then they would also be able to afford using Shellite. Again this is a very interesting lamp you have and thank you for sharing it with us. Cheers, Norman
Looking closely at the ads, it appears to be suspended from the centre of the tube. Are there any marks from a fitting or similar there?
@Jean J That is the closest I've come to having one all the same. @Nils Stephenson I was expecting to find signs of a hook or wire but nothing.
The two illustrated advertisements look very much like the lamp was suspended by a beaded chain on the curved part of the tube. As the tank lost fuel the balance would have shifted. I wonder if the lamp was on a pulley system? [Pssst, @Anthony. Haven’t you seen a VL recently...?]. Tony
