Clicky-switches can still be had too. If you can get a few pics of that switch we might find one. There were not a lot of different clicky-switches made back then, and I’ve fixed a few old lights in my youth with ones scrounged from vacuum cleaners and desk lamps which were identical or close enough to fit. These don’t repair well (if at all) so a replacement would be needed to make it work.
It’s still a piece of history anyway, working or not. Whoever designed it put thought into it’s aesthetics knowing the dies for the stampings would be a significant investment and useless for anything else. Today’s plastic and CNC work pales in comparison; it’s cheap and easy now unlike in the past. 3D printing moreso.
To my eyes this is as much industrial artwork as it is a flashlight, and that is a large part of why I love old flashlights so much :bigsmile:
We watched some of the Thin Man movies over the weekend and was wondering what kind of flashlights he was using. It was hard to tell, but these look pretty close if they weren’t the same.
http://imgur.com/xIADNIa
I have this lamp with an aspheric lens that my father bought some years ago. He didn’t use it much and it rotted across from leaking batteries. the lens is chipped at the edge and scratched but I was wondering should I try to build a lamp with it. The lamp was a cheap one back then so I dont want to restore it, it’s too far gone in any event.
Based on the online flashlight museum site, I think it is a
“baby Comet” with a Walleye lens. It takes two ‘C’ cells.
Paid $40. They are circa ~1913-1914
Picked it up today at an antique show. Almost in pristine condition.
I hope I’m in as good shape when I’m 103-104 years old.
Nice! that’s a beauty I have quite a few more vintage flashlights added in my collection, i just have not had time yet to do photos of them all to add here. (hopefully soon.
As I know you , you will never destroy a part of the flash lights history !!!..An easy cleaning , just to get rid of some rust and not let it spread .., and these two BEAUTIES will be the queens of your collection , no doubt..!
Modify them is like you've found an wild rose wood armoire , from 19-th century and you want to paint it with chark paint , to make it look old !!!!
I see the tube light design is a true transcendent. Too bad our lights today don’t look as classy, even if I love the current slick looking ones :sunglasses:
Wonder to myself how hard would it be to make a replica host out of newer materials, with a low-power but efficient driver-LED setup behind it. That’d win Build Of The Year in my opinion!