From 1899 and one of the first flashlights. Can you imagine how hard it was to find or buy a battery for this baby back then? There was not a CVS on every corner back then….
Me too - unfortunately alkaleaks have destroyed it, reflector and all. I have not even opened it up to try and clear out the muck, since an upgrade would not likely be worth the cost to me and I will never buy 6xD cells to put in one light again, so I would also need to adapt to take 18650/26650 or similar.
A project for a couple of rainy weekends I guess, one to strip, another to try and adapt something into it, as I will never throw it out, it was a prized possession for over 20 years and a gift from my wife in our early days. I could probably pack a whole survival kit into it, light, charger/power-bank, spare batteries, knife, rations, space blanket, micro-towel, raincoat, cooking kit etc.
The most uncommon lights I have are by Peak LED Solutions. Not sure how collectible they are these days. But they make wonderful task lights.
The all steel CR123A has a momentary switch installed, but I’ve got the original tail cap core and post to convert back.
The “Janus” double-head is a weird one. I put it to use only on one camp trip, which was pretty useful for illuminating opposing walls, but overall a lantern would do the trick. I’ve always wondered why Peak LED bothered to make it and can’t explain why I even bought it.