Been trying to get these lamps identified but due to the current lockdown having a hard time any information would be great many thanks. The tall one is a tilley lamp it has pat no 202485 on the top. The smaller one has english made written on the gas release. The one on the wall has a counterpart that is exactly the same. And has w.d.g.c written above the glass and w.w.e.g.c on the height adjuster.
There appears to be only one 'pressure lamp' and that's the Tilley TL136 table lamp 1949 - 1954 on the left (standard length vaporizer where as most had the longer version) The middle lamp I can only describe as a nautical 'wick' lantern (mast mounted?) and then what appears to be a 'gas' wall light. Apart from that I'm not sure. Martin
I know this is a pressure lamp forum, just wondered on the other two. Thank you for the information very helpful Martin
Hello Jake, As said Tilley lamp, keep it as a memory and a gas wall light, veritas or bray. Is there still gas connected ? The nautical lamp looks to new and light build for the real thing.
Hello No gas currently but looks complete and just a simple hook up would do the trick. Sorry what is meant by veritas or bray? I plan to keep one as a memory but unsure if they are worth anything or just nice decor. Many thanks
Hi @Jake Smart ! .. A Warm welcome ! They were manufacturers of Gas and oil lamps in the past...George Bray was a pioneer in Gas lighting ( Gasworks gas- Coal gas).. Veritas ( Brand Name)were manufacturers and sellers/distributers of Lamps.. You can Google both names and find more info online than here as this is more Pressure Lamps! There will be lots on here relating to the lovely Tilley Table Lamp, of course!
Re the gas (Veritas and Bray were manufacturers) lamp I think it would need another opening to allow air to flow through when operating ?
Thank you so much that is incredibly helpful! I will get search for more info on my tilley lamp on here. Thank you again
I bet that tilley lamp will look incredible once cleaned up. Look on here to get it working again, it will cost you well under a tenner to get that running, of course it may already have been fixed up already and just needs paraffin. if you do decide to light it up have a good read on here first on how to restore it and light it and don't use anything else to fuel it other than paraffin please! Done properly they are quite safe.
Welcome to CPL @Jake Smart I believe the Tilley is model TL136 shown in the Reference Gallery 1949 - 54 Tilley TL136 It should clean up nicely.
Someone else might know more, but the gas wall light probably had a different glass globe originally as it would need an opening to be lit. I can't imagine anyone going to the trouble of taking the globe off, lighting it and then replacing the globe again! Also it would have needed an air source presumably. Would it be possible with some ingenuity and resources to rig up a gas supply, add a mantle and get it going again?
Yes, i think folks do get them going.. I still remember holidays where the evenings were spent playing cards accompanied by the gentle hissing of the caravan gas lamps ....
Perhaps some natural gas lamps did indeed have a separate line for air. A lot of them worked how many GPA lamps work where they have a gap between the jet and the gas feed line that allows the gas to mix with air prior to entering the tube that carries the gas to the burner cap.
I remember holidays with my grandparents in a caravan on the Isle of Wight and the sweet smell of Calor gas lighting in the evenings!
Just a thought. Is it still legal to use these old gas lamps? They don't have any safety features like thermal shut off valves if the flame goes out, etc.
Probably, but so is finding a cast iron pan at the dump and taking it home, or sitting with your legs apart on a tube train or collecting rain water in certain US States, or fixing your own iPhone or a million other things... it gets to the point where you have to ignore certain things or you'd go completely crazy! (Some of the above activities are not illegal yet... but can you guess which?)
Isn't it illegal in one of the US states to have sex with a haddock or somesuch? - something like that anyway...
@plantpot Damn, what if the supposedly 11 year old haddock lied about its age? ....... you know dare I say mutton dressed up as lamb, or if you like, a tuna dressed as a cod. Would they have a whale of a time? My head hurts ....... Cheers Pete
Were the old British street lights powered by "town gas" (ie gas made from coal or shale) or "natural gas" (gas mined from underground gas seams)? I went to boarding school in Bathurst and the school was heated with gas heaters fed by town gas. The town had a "gasometer" (the ruins of which still exist). The gas was made from coal. The gas works are now derelict and the town gas replaced by natural gas. Tony
It would have been town gas and in Camberley where I grew up there was a gas works and a gasometer that supplied the town until natural gas took over. As I say my parents house had only just been converted to electricity but the early 60's and the circular wall plates where the lamps were attached could still be seen in some of the rooms under the wallpaper.
Sad that I didn't check because in one state, it's illegal to have sex with, amongst other things, birds - fish aren't specifically mentioned though, so I suppose they're 'fair game'. In another state it's (literally) illegal to shoot fish in a barrel. I guess I got the two states confused! Now, where's that haddock got to? - although I'd need to find a suitable plaice, naturally...
