The History and Identification of Lanterns Part One

 

            Lanterns have a magical charm and attraction about them, regardless of the material – wax, animal fat, whale oil, kerosene, or the modern oil – used to illuminate the device. This issue of the Journal and a companion article on lanterns are written by guest contributor Matt Cumberledge, executive director of the Greene County Historical Society and Museum.

 

The History and Identification of Lanterns

 

Not so very long ago, electric lighting was merely a dream and something unobtainable for many living in the Rural United States, even into the 1930s and 1940s there were many homes and farms that lacked the necessary infrastructure to flip a switch to illuminate their world.   As such, kerosene lanterns were, and in some instances remain to be, a huge part of our culture.

The first lanterns used candles to provide lighting.    In the 18^th Century and before, many Candle Lanterns were made out of sheet tin, or copper, and punched with holes forming various designs, allowing light to penetrate.   Wooden lanterns were also used and were common well into the Civil War and Reconstruction Eras.   These wooden lanterns were often simple frames, with glass panels on each of the 4 sides and a covered vent on top.

 

                

                                     

     Whale Oil Lanterns would begin to arrive on the scene in the 1840’s and become quite common in the 1850’s and 60’s.   It’s very easy to identify a Whale Oil Lantern by it’s burner.   Whale Oil Burners often have one, two or three, pointed tips with the end removed that would hold the wick and provide a source of fuel for the flame.   As Whale Population dwindled due to over harvesting for Whale Oil, Kerosene would be refined and developed and quickly become King.

 

The First Kerosene lanterns were made in the 1860’s based on patents by John Henry Irwin and Joseph B. Stetson.    By 1868, companies such as R. E. Dietz (Still in business today and making some of the same models as they were over a century ago) Chicago Lantern Company and others would perfect the design of the Tubular Kerosene Lantern.

`           The First Kerosene Lanterns were very simple in design, at the base was a small fount to hold fuel, and perhaps the most important feature were the tubes that formed a rough rectangular or trapezoidal shape.   See Diagram No. 1.   These tubes, which could either be square in cross section, circular or even “D” Shaped, are what kept a steady design of air feeding the flame.    This design was known as “The Hot Blast Design” due to the fact that combustion air was recycled to keep air flowing to the burner.   This design would prove to be very successful, with many different companies utilizing this design and competing in the open market to create the best lantern.     

                                                               Design Diagram No. 1

                                  

             By the 1890’s the Hot Blast Design had been perfected, and many companies such as R.E. Dietz, SG&L Co, C.T. Ham Manufacturing, Buhl Stamping, Nail City Lantern Company, Winfield Manufacturing, Meyrose, and many many others all had their take on the hot blast design.    Most of these companies had their own unique design on how to lift the globe to access the burner for wick trimming and lighting.   Some used a lever lift on one of the side tubes that when operated lifted the globe, others would opt for a top lift design with a tab on top of the smoke bell above the globe that could be pulled to raise the globe.    Many manufacturers had several different models with different lift designs, there was definitely a lot of competition to create the perfect lantern.

Undoubtedly the most popular hot blast lantern of the 1890’s and the first quarter of the 20^th century was the Dietz Victor, which was introduced into production sometime around 1892, and it would be produced well into the 1930s.    The Victor was a basic Hot Blast Lantern design that was toughly built, with a lever lift on the side, that was not only practical but affordable.   One can still commonly find a Dietz Victor in Antique Shops, Thrift Stores, Flea Markets and Online Auctions today.   

 The Victor however would fall out of Favor to the Dietz Monarch by the 1930’s.   The Monarch was a nearly identical lantern with only one exception.   In stead of the tubes being square, they tubes were round, made in two sections, each stamped from a sheet of tin and crimped together.   This design was more cost effective than the older square tube design.   The Diest Monarch is the only Hot Blast Lantern still in production today.

In the late 1880’s another lantern design was developed, the Cold Blast.   See Diagram 2.  It would take a while for the Cold Blast design to take off, as from a manufacturing stand point it is a bit more complicated, but the design utilized fresh cold air, not recycled combustion air from the lantern itself, to feed fresh oxygen to the burner resulting in a much brighter and whiter flame.   

                                                             Design Diagram No. 2

                                      

When we imagine what a lantern looks like, a Cold Blast lantern is often what we envision.    By 1900, many manufacturers were producing their own version of a Cold Blast lantern.   Unlike the earlier Hot Blast designs, most Cold Blasts tended to be similar in appearance and nearly identical in operation.    Early cold blast designs experimented with different lift designs, but by the late 1910’s or 1920’s nearly all were identical with a lever lift mounted to the side.

 See Diagrams 3 below for a diagram from a Canadian Lantern Manufacturer that gives an over view of lantern anatomy and various features of a good lantern.

Image File Reference:

0001.JPG                    18^th Century Candle Lantern
0002.JPG                    Wood Frame, Glass Paneled Candle Lantern
0003.JPG                    Whale Oil Lantern
0004.JPG                    A Early Kerosene Lantern, made by Dietz Circa 1870
0005.JPG                    A Dietz Victor Lantern, Circa 1896
0006.JPG                    A Dietz Crescent Lantern, Circa 1915 a typical Cold Blast Lantern

References:

Lanterns that Lit Our World, Volumes 1 & 2
Anthony Hobson 1991, 1996
Golden Hill Press

 

Interview with Joseph Bokanoski
Vernon CT, 2025

 

FaceBook Group
Tubular Lantern Collectors

 

Website: Ontario Lantern, The Drew Goff Collection
https://www.ontariolantern.ca/

 

Website:  W. T. Kirkman Lanterns
https://lanternnet.com/