Anyone into old lanterns? ( The Sequel Part 8, Finale 2 - One For The Road )

[TelePlay]

Was watching this junker lantern on eBay for 7 days. No one bid on it so I had an easy time sniping it at the listed price. Seller had a good feedback score so I took a chance.

     http://www.ebay.com/itm/1913-Dietz-Junior-Side-Lamp-12-034-Solid-Metal-Globe-is-Missing-/292192323757

First image below are the seller's pictures posted on eBay. Cracked lens, missing globe covered with dirt, soot and paint.

Second are images taken as received so the light would be the same in those as the after pictures.

Third images are after restoration.

Fourth image is lit and showing the burner and back reflector without the globe.

Had to make a decision on how to finish this lantern. After cleaning, it was a mixture of patina'd tin, black paint specs and shiny, scratched and/or worn off metal. Went with a tinted topcoat, two layers, and after the final 0000 steel wool buffing and one then coat of RenWax, it turned out okay. I wanted to darken the finish to take it from dark grey to close to black but wanted to keep the scratch and worn spots for their character.

After that, I discovered a magazine ad for these and in it they claimed this lantern put out 10 candle power due to the bulls-eye lens and "the shiny tin reflector" which was now dark brown to black patina'd tin. Took care of that with my Dremel and 4 abrasive wheels. Images show the tin as shiny as it gets but looks dark because it is reflecting the dark tin around it when not lit. The lit image shows the reflector best.

Seller's claim was correct in that is was old and when finished, looks like a 100 year old lantern in good, clean condition but filled with the "character" it acquired since first taken off a store shelf. The patent dates are stamped onto the right, as you look at it, air tube and the newest date I found was the bottom line - NOV 1907. That dates this lantern between 1908 and 1916 when this model ceased production. The embossed area around the ruby lens say "Junior Side Lamp" and they changed that to "Junior Side Lantern" in 1916.

This lantern could have been used on a horse drawn wagon or an early vehicle.

[twocvbloke]

Time for a Status Quo song:

https://youtu.be/eIj2XM9P3bM?t=2h18m9s

Seems apt... 

[RotarDad]

John - That really turned out great; nice work!  Is that a railroad lantern, used on a caboose, or?

[TelePlay]

John - That really turned out great; nice work!  Is that a railroad lantern, used on a caboose, or?

Thanks, and my wife likes it too so that justifies my cost.

No, not used with railroads in any way. These were only used on horse drawn wagons and early automobiles/trucks. I guess 10 candle power was enough to light a dark road doing 5 to 10 mph max. 10 candle power is not much light even when focused forward,

This one is equipped with a mounting plate on the left side, as you look at it from the front, so it would be attached to a vehicle on the drivers side (US) using a Dietz supplied flat "S" mounting bracket. Just slipped over the part of the "S" that stuck out.

They made these types of lanterns for both the left and right side of "vehicles." This one is the driver side (left) side of vehicle mount, not the passenger side.

I'm glad the lantern people found such a demand for replacement bullseye lenses that they found a manufacturer would design and produce a pressed glass lens that was more heat resistant than the original plain glass at a reasonable cost. When I removed the retainer ring from the globe plate, the original cracked lens fell apart into 3 pieces. The repro lens slipped right in and it only cost me $14, a bargain in my opinion. There are a lot of old lanterns out there that had bullseye lens and everyone of them cracked.

[RotarDad]

Thanks John for the explanation.  I get it now - the majority of the light is focused forward with the reflector as a headlight, and just a bit shines through the rear as a red "tail light".  Even at the slower speeds of that time, it would be nice to know if another vehicle was coming or going, especially with narrow dirt pathways.  I appreciate the history lesson!

If you keep this up, someday the forum will have to renamed to include lanterns.....  How about "Dietz and Dials"........

[TelePlay]

For the record, this was the lantern Doug Rose found at a flea market and thought about cleaning it or selling it. He sold it.

While the after pictures can make one think it was a keeper, the work involved with cleaning, stripping, cleaning, metal bending, top and globe plate removal and re-installation, replacing parts and finally top coating it were more complex than I had anticipated. Sure glad they used simple solder back then in lantern construction. Made replacing the lens easier than I expected it would be.

It was a good decision on his part to sell it. The other alternative would have been having a frustrating project on the bench for months.

[Doug Rose]

John...you did an AMAZING job on it! I would be proud to own it....looking like this  .....You are correct, I was smart to sell it as I never would have got it anywhere close to this...AA++...Doug