Well, Meanderer, if that were my room it would have stacks of paper and clutter all over the tables and bookcase. It's a really nice room. You guys did a good job decorating.
Little Wizard:
The Dietz Little Wizard was introduced in 1913, and is the 3/4 version of the Wizard/D-Lite models. There are several variations of the Little Wizard, including large fount versions, Art Deco streamline versions, as well as solid brass versions. The first, and rarest, version of the Little Wizard has air tubes that are reinforced with horizontal beads only. After 1916, the air tubes had both horizontal and vertical beads. (From 1931 to 1933 an economy grade version with un-reinforced air tubes was made under the name "Gem.") The first Streamline lanterns were introduced in 1936 with an "un-beaded" tank, and differ from those made after 1938 which have a "bead" or step in the sidewall of the tank. In the 1950's a special large tank version was introduced that had the same size tank as the streamline Blizzard and D-Lite lanterns. The Little Wizard was used on street barricades prior to the development of battery powered strobe flashers. Custom imprinted lanterns were ordered for government agencies, cities and municipalities so that ownership was never in question. The Dietz factories in Hong Kong and China still produce the 1920's version of the Little Wizard lantern on some of the original American tooling.
Copyright © 1997 - 2011 W.T. Kirkman All Rights Reserved
from:
http://www.lanternnet.com/faqs.htm#littlewizard (page down)
Also see:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_VgdOrgIvz8
I only collected EAPG (Early American Patterned Glass) lamps. So, yes, oil lamps have been around for centuries, but the pre 1950s versions of these have been around less than 100 years. These are 3 of my simplest lamps. I tend to like plain lines and clear glass. [Lucky because the more colorful and intricate the design, the more expensive they are.
] I also think they are prettier without the globe in most cases. :shrug:
Left to right, #1 was made by the Riverside Glass Company, Wellsburg, WV. 1880-1907. Their lamps are easily identified because they had the trademark Riverside clinch-on collars. #2 is one of my favorites just because of the clean simple lines. It has a brass insert collar patented in 1911, but that doesn't mean the lamp is that old. Probably from the 20's. #3 was made in 2 pieces both top and bottom, and then fused together. It has a typical older collar that is cemented on. The finger ring was molded and not pressed on, so it's probably early 20th century. These are not valuable lamps. I just like them.
I used to know at least a little history of every lamp I had, but didn't write it down, so now I've forgotten after 12 years.
