Posted 9 years ago
tosofie
(5 items)
Hello:
I found this oil lamp while doing an estate clean for a gentleman that was in his eighties. Its metal of some sort, perhaps tin. Triangular in shape, it has a seam running around the base, running up the side, two hinged handles that can either lay flat against the sides or out as shown in the picture. There is a cap on a small chain attached to the handles. The wick is large and feeds up through a screw top (mantle?) There is no adjustment knob on the side to lower or raise the wick I guess you would just burn it and then trim it down.
I think the wick holder should slide out of the body & there should be adjustment hole below the rim.
Hello:
I had to go and have another look at the lamp. The wick when unscrewed and removed from the body of the lamp runs through a metal cylindar. Its about six inches long and has what looks like small holes on the side. Would this be what you are saying may be for the adjustments? Care to take a guess at how old the lamp is?
Thanks for your help this is a great site
Those are pry holes, you use a small metal pin to pry the wick up.
Not sure on the age, but most likely older than me...lol
Welcome to CW
Probably an early version of a road "flambo". Nice.
Around here we call them yellow dog railroad torches or lamps. Do a google image search.
Oh, Rustfarm, what we would call "yeller dawg" in Alabama! LOL! Just joking as nobody would understand that to day in AL after the yankee invasion. They don't seem to like that cold weather either! Actually, we always called them flambos but I went further south 42 yrs. ago. I was the smart one in the family. Resident of 3 countries & pay taxes to none. Love it!
Good Morning All:
Thank you to all for all your help and suggestions. I did a Google search actually first thing :-) and came up with everything but oil lamps. So after a little bit of digging came across this site. You have been a gold mine of knowledge. Still can't find anything on yellow dogs or flambos but after work I'll have a little more time.
Thanks again and have a good day to all.
I have 1906 & 1914 RR supply catalogs that shows these as Railroad Hand Torches. They also had a lamp but not this shape.
They are not in their 1937 catalog but they may have just quit selling that line.
Very nice, and worthy of more photos.