Hi All: Great find. Can't wait to see it running. I have had several of these over the years, while uncommon they can be found. I found my last one in March of this year at antique tractor show and swapmeet for the grand sum of $12.00. It was tired but all there except for the shade. I gifted it to a buddy that had been looking for one. So don't despair, I don't see them like I did 40 yrs ago but they still pop up from to time. Mike...
As far a I know there are 4 in the UK with collectors. There may be more because they were almost certainly sold here and if one turned up in Shetland you can bet the farm there was a batch of them up there in the 1920s. All 4 have been found in the UK and not bought in from the US. Three found together with four PQs at a West Country car boot sale many years ago. Odd lamps and not very practical in use which perhaps explains why not so many were made and sold. ::Neil::
Hello Neil, Kenny in Northern Ireland has an HQ., as well, so that's 5 in the UK., that we know of, Jeff.
Does he now. So 5 here then and maybe 6 in the US. Makes a dozen or so which is not bad from an original production of 5197 between 1922 and 1927. Odd thing is I have yet to see one with the logo and a date stamp on the tank. Coleman started date marking in the fall of 1924 so you would expect about a quarter of the production to be marked but as yet none are known to me. ::Neil::
Hi all: The common use for these lamps was to illuminate commercial business in logging camps, mining camps etc in outlying areas with little or no electricity. In the photos I've seen they were mounted on a wall with a flat strap hook bracket near the ceiling to illuminate the establishment. They were pumped and refilled while attached to the bracket with the operator on a stool or ladder. Mike...
It's taken about 1 year and 5 months to appear, but I finally managed to obtain a complete period burner system for this lamp. After a 24 hour soak in old vinegar and some elbow grease etc., from myself, it's cleaned up well enough. My thanks to the seller (Paul M) for letting it go! These 2 photos show it fitted to my HQ., Jeff.
That is a seriously good addition to your pile young Jeff. One of maybe a dozen or so known world wide which means it is getting towards the rarest Coleman lamp a collector can have. Not by a long way the most valuable though which has always puzzled me. A few years back there were two of these HQs sold on the bay for about $300 I think. OK that is serious cash but 12 known and only $300? Why therefore at about the same time was an Arc lantern worth upwards of $2000 when they are much more common. ::Neil::
Hello Neil, yes, it's better now that I have the proper period of burner system on it, which is what my previous post was about. Arc lanterns are not fetching so much now, but they still make over $1000, there was one which sold for a few hundred dollars recently. But it had been poorly listed as a kerosene lantern with no mention of the words Coleman or Arc in the listing. Jeff.
