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News Article
Lighting the Way for More than 100 Years – Aladdin Lamps
By Susan Emerson Nutter

The Aladdin lamp is iconic. Anyone who has perused an antique show or auction has probably had exposure to this historic lighting device. Not only are Aladdin lamps still manufactured today, their design is very similar to that those first lamps, with some obvious improvements along the way.

The history behind the Aladdin lamp is intricate, involved and fascinating. Much of the information presented here comes from research compiled by J. W. “Bill” Courter and published in his book Aladdin the Magic Name in Lamps (Wallace Homestead Company, 1983). Courter is still as actively involved with teaching about and promoting Aladdin lamps today as when his book was published.

To begin discussing Aladdin lamps, first know that its origin is based on the German-made (Eckel & Glinicke, 1906) Practicus burner. In 1907, the Connecticut Trading Company in the United States was formed and gained an exclusive license to import the Practicus incandescent mantle burners in North America. The company used these burners and lamp bases manufactured by Plume & Atwood in Waterbury, Conn., to make complete kerosene mantle lamps.

The Connecticut Trading Company then hired traveling salesmen to bring their lamps to rural America and Canada. And while they utilized many such independent sales agents, it was Victor Johnson (from Minden, Neb.) who is of most importance.

Johnson, impressed by the Practicus lamp, formed the Western Lighting Co. Minneapolis, Minn., in 1907 to sell Practicus lamps under license from The Connecticut Trading Company. A year later, he moved his business to Chicago incorporating the Mantle Lamp Company of America in 1908. And though the Practicus mantle or burner made to fit common American-made lamp fonts was popular, it was prone to movement thereby heating up and cracking the glass chimneys of the lamps. Johnson began searching for a better option.

Though there was a brief stint where the Mantle Lamp Company utilized the Sunbeam side draft burner on Plume & Atwood fonts; according to www.survivalunlimited.com, “The Aladdin lamp became a reality when Johnson acquired improved center-draft burners patented by Charles E. Wirth (assignor to Plume and Atwood Manufacturing Company, Waterbury, Conn.). Early in 1909 Johnson introduced the Aladdin lamp. He derived the name from the famous story, Aladdin; or The Wonderful Lamp where a magician offered new lamps for old.”

This initial Aladdin lamp is referenced as Aladdin model 1 lamp by Courter (and all other Aladdin lamp collectors), and included three table lamp version, two hanging examples, a wall mounted lamp, and an oil pot lamp.

Courter points out, “The Aladdin model 1 and 2 lamps were basically generic P&A designed centre draft mantle lamps. Early shades were generic off the shelf glass shades for that era and the wall mount brackets, fount lamp hangers and shade holders were the standard P&A type. The mantles and chimneys were imported from Germany. Within a couple years Aladdin was contracting independent glass companies to produce glass shades and chimneys and had established their own in-house mantle manufacturing facilities.”

The Mantle Lamp Co. owes much of its success to the fact the company was not afraid to update and change their lamps as innovations and improvements came to be, and they continually moved toward using American-made parts. Courter explains, “Very early on the Mantle Lamp Company created a R&D department which worked tirelessly to improve the Aladdin burner. Over the next three years the centre draft burner evolved quickly. There are at least three different versions of the model 2 lamp which was offered for sale during a single year.”

Innovations fueled the Aladdin lamp’s popularity specifically the Kone Kap mantle that along with a new gallery and generator were the company’s first patent, which was issued in 1911. The Kone Kap “moved the cone from the gallery to the mantle and created a controlled more exact spacing by virtue of the mantle locking into the new gallery.” This patent was significant to the company’s success. The Mantle Lamp Company had complete control over making and selling the Kone Kap mantel whose precise location on the gallery created a much easier to operate lamp than any other on the market.

Other innovations followed. The first wick cleaners made their debut in 1913 on model 4 lamps. In 1915, the Model 6 floor lamp which could be converted to electricity; Aladdin’s first electric lamp, earned a gold medal at the Panama Pacific International Exhibition in San Francisco; aka the 1915 World’s Fair.

The year 1917 saw significant changes. World War 1 became a reality and with it the end to German made burners, mantels and chimneys. Up to this point, other lamp manufacturers in the U.S. still relied on German made parts for their lamps. Aladdin having already partnered with Plume & Atwood instead used American made parts. Their German dependent competitors went out of business, while Aladdin’s success grew. The only lamp parts Aladdin still imported from German prior to World War I were glass chimneys. Chimney production shifted to the U.S. both during and after the war.

Other updates that took place in 1917 included the introduction of Model 7; the first lamp using all new tooling designed just for Aladdin; the first bug screens, and oodles of patents were issued again setting Aladdin lamps apart from any remaining competitors.

Another significant milestone took place in 1918 when Aladdin was granted a patent for the #6 burner which pretty much ended production for other companies using the Plume & Atwood designed mantle lamps.

In 1921, the Model 10 showcased reinforced wicks ending the need for the wick carrier. In 1926, the Lippincott Glass Co. was purchase and by 1928, the first Aladdin manufactured glass shades came on the market as well as the first paper shades. Also in this year, the company changed the name of “generator” to “flame spreader” and the Model 12 Lox-on mantle and chimney were introduced. And in 1928, the company dropped independent sales agents for selling Aladdin lamps and used solely franchised dealers; some 15,000 by the early 1930s.

The 1930s saw lots of “firsts” for Aladdin lamps. The Model 12 vase lamps came on the scene. The first glass lamps were produced. Australian manufactured lamp bodies began as did the first English made lamps. Glass font lamps and caboose lamps also began production in the 1930s. The electric lamp’s popularity over kerosene lamps became apparent during this era, with Aladdin following suit offering for the next 15 years unique electric lamps in “Deco” designs along with colorful paper shades.

Because the country was in the midst of World War II, no brass lamps were manufactured between 1943 and 1945. In 1949 the Mantle Lamp Co. with Aladdin Industries, and the main offices moved from Chicago to Nashville, Tenn., with much of the lamp line being revised in that same year.

As the 1950s through to the 1990s, Aladdin lamps continued to undergo change as interest in these kinds of lamps waned. The last floor lamp was made in 1952. The last Aladdin glass lamp (B-23) was removed from the price list, though in 1974, glass lamp production resumed with an undated model 23 Lincoln Drape example becoming available.

In 1999, a group of Aladdin enthusiasts headed by J. W. “Bill” Courter and Tom Teeter purchased the Aladdin mantle lamp division from Aladdin Industries. Tom Teeter owned a company named The American Lamp Supply Co. that offered reproduction and new classic lamps that used the model 23 burner. The merging of the two companies provided a large increase in Aladdin lamp models. The new company was named The Aladdin Mantle Lamp Co.

7/6/2018
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