SMALL LANTERN
c. 1900 - 1910Metal oil lamp, base to hold oil (kerosene) with knob on side to control wick.
Vents to top & side for air flow.
Glass red & green prism to each side - magnifying glass round convex to front.
Silver finish is showing age.
Believed to be a bicycle lamp.
Details
Details
"MADE IN ENGLAND". "CORSAIR". "2CB" handwritten on top.
By the late 1800's, the form of the bicycle would be as readily recognizable as those manufactured today.
As the bicycle gained popularity and became more affordable to the masses, so came the need for illumination for nighttime riding. English manufacturer Joseph Lucas & Sons of Birmingham, England produced a full line of bicycle lamps, as did Powell & Hanmer and Henry Miller.
The basic, overall design of the bicycle lamps remained relatively standard. They consist of a lamp or lantern housing (most often brass and sometimes nickel-plated), removable fount and burner, front lens and reflector, and some type of bracket for attaching the lamp to the bicycle. Most have a convex lens on the front to focus and concentrate the light. On the back of the inside of the housing, there is often a polished metal reflector to increase light output. There are often green or red glass jewels on the side or back of the lamp which function as side (green) and rear (red) markers.
The bottom portion of the housing is vented to permit the intake of combustion air and top of the lamp is vented to dissipate heat and smoke. The brackets vary from fixed style mountings to more complex, multi-spring mechanisms designed to absorb shock. The lamps could be mounted to the front tube or on the fork, depending upon the type of bracket purchased.
The hey-day of the kerosene bicycle lamp must have been during the years of 1896 through 1898 when nearly one hundred patents were granted. Like everything else, the kerosene bicycle lamp faded into obscurity as it was replaced by safer and more modern battery operated lighting and dynamo-driven bicycle lighting systems.
http://www.thelampworks.com/lw_bicycle.htm
