I did some research and found people posting about a company with that name making oil lamps during the 1800s (Civil War era). There were also some posts saying there was a newer company with the same name still in business. I was pretty sure my lamp wasn't 150 years old, so I just assumed my lamp was a reasonably current item and threw it up on eBay for cheap.
Shame on me for not making sure I had this story fleshed out. Most of the time I try to nail down a timeline as best I can unless the item is going to be priced for less than $20. Fast forward six months and the listing expires for a second time from eBay. At this point I decide I should try to move it to Etsy but I really need to be sure it's at least 20 years old. Round 2 of research commences...
Now the water gets murky because once I again I find numerous references to this Civil War era maker. I see occasional mention of a newer company using the same name. Sadly in the case of the Civil War company there are no real records to find. I'm also not getting anything helpful about newer businesses with the name except this:
White Flame Light @ History Grand Rapids.Org
This is clearly the right company since they are mentioned in the correct city. Sadly there are no dates in this brief history of the business, just the name of the founder. Well crap, this is not helping me with my timeline problem. I really need to know when this company was founded and when it ended. Obviously from the story I can assume the business started at a time when oil lamps were a primary light source, but that's a pretty big window.
Eventually I find some listings in Google's book search that are advertisements in Popular Mechanics dating to the 1910s and 1920s. This is helpful since I'm getting some type of timeframe. It still doesn't tell me when the business died or perhaps merged with another company.
After a great deal of fruitless Google searches I decide to focus on the guy's name instead of the company name. Finally I start to make progress! I find some stories of land he donated to the city and some family information. I continue digging and come up with this page:
Blandford Family Tree Bio
A bit invasive, but hey, the dude is dead. Since it lists a birth date of 1890 I think we can assume this is not our Civil War lamp maker. So we've clearly got two different companies using the same or similar name on oil lamps. Either way, Victor from Grand Rapids is MY guy. By clicking the "Notes" tab I get a bio:
"Victor produced White Flame Light Burner lamps until electricity came of age. During the depression he joined the realty firm of I. R. Blandford..."
So now we've got a concrete time window! We know that he started making lamps during or after college, so that would be the early 1900s. Being born in 1890, we're probably talking about 1906 if we follow the storyline from the Grand Rapids site. We've also learned that by the Great Depression he had moved into real estate -- 1929. So our lamp has to date between 1906 and 1929.
Mystery Solved!
Not that it makes my lamp drastically more valuable, it doesn't. But at least I know I can safely add it to my Etsy shop and I've got more interesting background information to share about it. I hope this information comes in handy to some other pickers out there who are trying to date their White Flame oil lamp.
If the burner on your oil lamp looks like this:
Then you have a lamp made by Victor Blandford's White Flame Company!
This is clearly the right company since they are mentioned in the correct city. Sadly there are no dates in this brief history of the business, just the name of the founder. Well crap, this is not helping me with my timeline problem. I really need to know when this company was founded and when it ended. Obviously from the story I can assume the business started at a time when oil lamps were a primary light source, but that's a pretty big window.
Eventually I find some listings in Google's book search that are advertisements in Popular Mechanics dating to the 1910s and 1920s. This is helpful since I'm getting some type of timeframe. It still doesn't tell me when the business died or perhaps merged with another company.
After a great deal of fruitless Google searches I decide to focus on the guy's name instead of the company name. Finally I start to make progress! I find some stories of land he donated to the city and some family information. I continue digging and come up with this page:
Blandford Family Tree Bio
A bit invasive, but hey, the dude is dead. Since it lists a birth date of 1890 I think we can assume this is not our Civil War lamp maker. So we've clearly got two different companies using the same or similar name on oil lamps. Either way, Victor from Grand Rapids is MY guy. By clicking the "Notes" tab I get a bio:
"Victor produced White Flame Light Burner lamps until electricity came of age. During the depression he joined the realty firm of I. R. Blandford..."
So now we've got a concrete time window! We know that he started making lamps during or after college, so that would be the early 1900s. Being born in 1890, we're probably talking about 1906 if we follow the storyline from the Grand Rapids site. We've also learned that by the Great Depression he had moved into real estate -- 1929. So our lamp has to date between 1906 and 1929.
Mystery Solved!
Not that it makes my lamp drastically more valuable, it doesn't. But at least I know I can safely add it to my Etsy shop and I've got more interesting background information to share about it. I hope this information comes in handy to some other pickers out there who are trying to date their White Flame oil lamp.
If the burner on your oil lamp looks like this:
Thank you, thank you, thank you for writing this article on your blog! I have recently inherited a house full of items, two of which are kerosene lamps. One was manufactured by the White Flame Co. and I had searched in vain trying to find ANY info on it. Several hours later, I google another search and find your blog. I had suspected my lamp was early 1900's but like you, wanted a more defined window for the manufacture date. Thanks again!!!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad my information was helpful to you! I was hoping someone would get use from it at some point - so I appreciate you taking a minute to share your story :)
ReplyDeleteI recently purchased an electric lamp at an estate sale. Is it safe to say that it is from around the same era?
DeleteI recently purchased an electric lamp at an estate sale. Is it safe to say that it is from around the same era?
DeleteI don't think an electric lamp would be the same era, no. These oil lamps were made before electricity was widely available for lighting.
DeleteI have a white flame lamp I have just bought from an old friend that is moving. It is one of the metal ones. It has the same burner on top as your pictures. I have cleaned it up and it is beautiful!
DeleteJust bought one at a thrift shop!!! $4
ReplyDeleteJust bought one at a thrift shop!!! $4
ReplyDeleteThat's a great price! I paid $12 for mine so you did even better than me :)
ReplyDeleteOmg! Thankyou! I have this! I worked hard cleaning it up to reveal the words. I got it from my grandmother. Very interesting as I hadn't had much luck finding its history.
ReplyDeleteI have one of these lanps that belonged to my great-grandmother, and I am 61 years old.
ReplyDeleteI have one of these lanps that belonged to my great-grandmother, and I am 61 years old.
ReplyDeleteI have one in mint condition with wick and chimney
ReplyDeletehmichelj@ymail.com
I have one from an aunt that was used before rural electric came to Oklahoma . Got it out today and cleaned it up ,in good shape an will be getting right wick for it .
ReplyDeleteThanks for this information. Inherited my grandmother's lamp (I'm 75) who lived on a farm in Saskatchewan Canada. Always wondered about the company as "White Flame Light Co, Grand Rapids is very clear on the burner.
ReplyDeleteElectricity didn't arrive in eastern Montana until the early 1950s so my lamp had much use in my grandparents home until that time. It, most likely, was a lamp that was sold in masse to the homesteaders of the period and probably in my grandfather's prairie merchantile.
ReplyDeleteI too have inherited my mom's oil lamp. She said someone threw it out and it didn't break, so she picked it up and took it home. That was probably in the 40s. My is pale green thou. I not finding many that color. Does any one have one of color?
DeleteI too have inherited my mom's oil lamp. She said someone threw it out and it didn't break, so she picked it up and took it home. That was probably in the 40s. My is pale green thou. I not finding many that color. Does any one have one of color?
DeleteI have not seen any colored lamps from White Flame but many other companies made them in a range of colors and styles during this time frame. It would not surprise me at all if White Flame did as well.
DeleteTwo came into our antique store One with a 'bubble' in it and it is pale purple. Thank you for the background. Unfortunately neither chimney were present.
DeleteI was told that i may be depression glad it has a very light purple color to it. Does anyone know about glass turning purple through time in the sun.
DeleteThank you so much for doing the research that I was just preparing to try to do! I inherited one of these lamps that has been in the family for generations. Thanks again!
ReplyDeletehello: possible the brass wick holder part with the company stamping just put on another base or was the threading specific to White Flame Light company?? My base is orange red with upper fading to white with same color flowers and leaves on upper ring. Has brass threaded fitting moulded into glass where wick
ReplyDelete/chimney holder threads in??? friend told me era glass does not show a seam ..... mine does..........comments??
Well it is always possible to swap burners between lamps if the threading is compatible. Whether you could find another lamp with the same threading is a different matter and to my mind, less likely. It's more likely to me that you simply have a more ornate version of the lamp.
DeleteI definitely do not agree that having a seam (aka mold mark) on your lamp means it's not a period lamp. Molded glass has been around for longer than the White Flame company. According to Wikipedia molded glass has been produced in the US since the early 1800s.
As far as I know there are no catalogs to use as a reference for this rather obscure company. In all likelihood your lamp is just a more ornate example of their work.
Kaliope,
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for the research into this company and the time frame of their production. I too like to ensure that the information with my descriptions is as accurate as possible. The other way to know that the White Flame lamp is not from the Civil War (1861-1865) era maker is that the McKinley Tariff Act of 1890 is the one that required the country of origin markings on products. With the White Flame lamp, such as yours and mine, having Made in U.S.A. on the wick adjustment knob, it is further evidence that it was made after that act. Thanks again for all of your research and documentation! Very much appreciated!
Vida
Thanks for letting me know about the McKinley Tariff Act - I hadn't come across that bit of information yet. That is definitely helpful for working out how old an item can (or can't) be!
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ReplyDeleteThanks so much for doing the research on this company, I just bought 3 lanterns at my local feed/general store here in BC, Canada and one of them is a very large, White Flame lantern.now to try and do some detective work on the other 2.One of which simply says " Eagle" and the other says " Queen Mary". Thanks again !!
ReplyDeleteThankfully, your blog just showed up on a Google Search..I have burner just like the photos you have, but it isn't shiny, just a dull metal gray finish...Now I can date the burner, it was screwed onto a wall hanging tin bodied lamp, from St. Louis, the curved overhang of the tin body is roughly 8 inches above the burner, and the diameter on the bottom of the globe is 3 inches...
ReplyDeleteMine the body is yellow/gold with a brass ring & wick holder/top is also brass
ReplyDeleteMine the body is yellow/gold with a brass ring & wick holder/top is also brass
ReplyDeleteSusieQ March 8,2017 I have 2 lamps with this company's markings. Both are from my mother who was born in 1918. The first was on a wall mount with a reflective back disc and she said that it was always the lamp in her bedroom.(on the farm in Morse, Ia.) It was somethat gold color in the base. The second was one with a wicker weaved cover over the base, that my mom said she had made in (something like) 4H. It was clear glass. Both have brass fittings. We still use them when the power goes out! here in Indiana.
ReplyDeleteThank you! I have one about to go on eBay that I know has been in our family since at least 1906. It is exactly what is pictured. This information is so helpful.
ReplyDeleteI just found this clear glass Lantern at an estate sale in California. I brought it home used to some brass copper cleaner on the wick area and cleaned up the glass and it is a beautiful piece of work thank you for all the work on dating the lantern very much appreciated. Now I know what to say about this lamp if anyone ever asks. I wish I could send a picture on your blog.
ReplyDeletei have one given to me by my grandfather born ( 1882 ) but it has green glass
ReplyDeleteBob Rorabaugh February 18, 2018 at 4:32 PM
ReplyDeleteWow, I don't usually read blogs but, curious about a green glass "White Flame Light Co" lamp in pristine condition, I was conflicted between my wife's "give it away" and any "value" I might find online. My mother was born in 1911. Whether this was given to her in the 30's or had been her parent's lamp, I'll never know. May find a new home for it. Thanks for your research.
Sometimes just knowing something is antique is enough to create interest in an object, especially if it's been in the family that whole time. I would definitely give family members an opportunity to take it off your hands before resorting to sell/donate.
DeleteMy wife and I bought a green “uranium glass” oil lamp the other day for $36. It has the white flame light company burner, but the same antique store had another lamp just like the one we bought with a different vendor selling it for $375. It had a different burner. I have also seen one on ebay that said it had a “queen anne” burner. I have also seen pictures of this oil lamp in different glass colors. The lamp we bought definitely has had some use, and the thumb wheel feels stuck. Definitely new to the hobby so I’m a bit nervous about messing with it too much.
ReplyDeleteI don't think it's possible to damage an oil lamp unless you dropped it and broke the glass or used a caustic chemical on the metal that warped or eroded it. The burner is just metal so it shouldn't be damaged by cleaning. Obviously you'd want to be careful not to bend or put too much pressure on the metal in case it's brittle. Other than that I would see what you can do with it.
ReplyDeleteI have 2 of them do you know how much they go for?
ReplyDeleteIt's been a few years since I had one so I'm not sure, but probably no more than $50. And that would be tested and fully functional.
DeleteI"m having trouble finding the correct wick size. Measuring the wick opening it appears to be 1/2 inch; flat wick. I would also like to know the thread size for the burner going into the oil tank base. Thanks for all the work you've shared with all of us.
ReplyDeleteI sold my White Flame lamp so I don't have a way to collect measurements from it. I was able to purchase 1" flat wick from Amazon for a different lamp, surely they would have a 1/2" inch size. Good luck with it!
DeleteIf your wick opening measures 1/2", then your burner is probably a #1 size which has 7/8" threads to connect with the oil tank. Try Oillampparts.com for wicks for this size burner.
DeleteI realize that this is an old thread but I wanted to clear up some of the mystery surrounding White Flame Light Company. White Flame filed for their patent in 1921. This patent was for the lamp burner only. White Flame did not produce the actual lamp. This explains why everyone’s lamp is a different size, shape, color etc. The lamps were produced by many different companies.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the info - I suspected as much but it's nice to have confirmation!
DeleteI have 1 also with date on the 2 caps Pat date 1875 & date made 1876
ReplyDeleteWalt, the dates on your lamp sounds great! Do you have a couple photos of the lamp that you could attach in a email to me. I'd love to see it. I just found a burner, only two days ago, outside in the dirt by our cabin up Taos Canyon, between Taos and Angle Fire, New Mexico!! The burner, unfortunately, was crushed, and badly damaged, but the White Flame Light Co Grand Rapids, Mich was plain to see and easy to read.
DeleteEven though the patent was filed in 1921, Victor started making them in 1906.
ReplyDeleteTo add even more intrigue, I have a clear chimney with a White Flame logo on it at the top
ReplyDeleteI just bought two oil lamp basses both have the same White Flame Light Co Grand Rapids Mich on them would anyone have any information about them
ReplyDeleteI just bought a lamp at an Estate Sale with that same top. It was so black and caked with burnt gunk. I use a cleaner called Greased Lightning. I pour some in a container to cover it and it takes soot and black from it with no scrubbing. Looks newish. But I haven't seen any with a loop in the glass and the top doesn't screw on it just pushes down on. I would say there old with having that type of top on them. I was trying to find an age they where in business. Thanks for your article on them you found.
ReplyDeleteThank you all for the info on these lamps...very interesting! I'm from Ontario Canada and I have one as well.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the wonder research comments. I have a fingerlamp with the White flame logo. Clear glass with ornate bottom glass lines. From an old Wyoming ranch near Encampment. Knew that the lamp had age. Beautiful historic antique.
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