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Beacon (Home Supply Company) |
(1910 - 1924) |
Beacon Model 4 table lamp
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The Home Supply Company of Kansas City, Mo. was formed in 1910 by John E. Baldery. Mr. Baldrey had been the Secretary and Treasurer of People's Supply Company for at least a decade prior to founding the Home Supply Company. He died in 1930.
The company purchased side draft burners and complete lamps from Plume & Atwood and used independent sales agents to sell both burners and complete lamps throughout North America. They also purchased a small number of table fonts from Edward Miller & Co that were side draft adaptations of Miller's Juno center draft lamps. There are also a few Beacon lamps using table fonts manufactured by Manhattan Brass. In 1924 the Home Supply Company merged with the Solar lamp company. Some Beacon model 3 and 4 burners were exported to Sweden where they were sold on locally made fonts.
The side draft burners were of offered as upgrades for flat wick lamps. The burners fit standard #3 lamp collars and with an adapter would fit standard #2 lamp collars. Being a side draft burner the Beacon burner would not fit on centre draft lamps. Beacon burners sold to Sweden came with a US to metric adapter so the burners could be used with lamp bases that had metric threads |
The Home Supply Co. used the same wick adjustment knob for all their models of lamps
Wick adjustment knob on Beacon model 3 & 4 burners sold in Sweden.
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Documents:
January 1915 ad in the Eugene Register-Guard
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The Home Supply Company used independent sales agents to retail their products. Each sales agent had their own exclusive sales region and were free to place their own ads for Beacon lamps and burners.
The Home Supply Company also produced their own ads for nationwide distribution. Home Supply outsourced their advertising to the Horn-Baker Advertising Co of Kansas City. |
Beacon model 1 mantle lamps |
(1910 - 1912) |
Beacon model 2 table lamp |
(1912 - 1913) |
Beacon model 2
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The Beacon model 2 was in production for only a single lamp selling season before it was replaced by a burner that used the new KoneKap mantle in mid 1913.
The Beacon model 2 used an entirely new side draft burner and continued using the Cap mantle. This burner design was patented by Plume & Atwood ( 1044961 ) in 1912 and appeared under multiple brand names including Sunbeam and Lumineer.
One thing interesting about this lamp is that it uses the 1-1/2 quart bowl with fancy foot Plume and Atwood table fount. Normally Beacon table lamps are found with the P&A 1-1/2 quart bowl and plain foot design. |
Beacon model 4 mantle lamps
I'm not sure what a model 3 Beacon lamp is or if there even was a model 3 Beacon lamp. There are lamps that have a burner gallery labeled" PAT. APP. FOR" and lamps with the burner gallery labeled "MODEL No. 4 followed by patent dates. If there is a Beacon model 3 it might be the lamp with the gallery marked "PAT. APP. FOR" The Beacon model 2 and model 4 burners appear identical except for the gallery.
Late Beacon oil pot lamp
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The beacon oil pot lamp is made by Plume and Atwood, the same company that made the Aladdin lamps. The oil pot font used for this lamp is the same as was used for the Aladdin model 1 through model 6 lamps but without the centre draft tube used by the Aladdin lamps.
Oil pot lamps were intended to fit inside an lamp body, such as a vase lamp, gone with the wind style lamp or a hanging lamp body. They made a nice upgrade over round or flat wick oil pots providing a lot more light using less kerosene. This lamp has the Beacon model 4 burner. |
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A late Beacon burner attached to a fount manufactured by the Manhattan Brass company and sold by a yet unidentified retail or wholesale company
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A Manhattan Brass table font with Beacon burner
Department store chains prefer to have unique lamps to sell. Montgomery Wards and Sears are good examples, each offering different mantle lamps manufactured by lamp companies for them to offer. Between about 1907 and 1925 or 1926, a yet unidentified retail or wholesale company purchased side draft mantle lamps from the Manhattan brass company to offer to their customers. Manhattan Brass Company (1865-1926) is primarily known as a manufacturer of center draft kerosene lamps but also manufactured lamps on custom order for other companies and retail stores*. The Manhattan Brass company manufactured these lamps to order using their Yale No. 2 tooling modified for side draft burners. The Yale No. 2 lamps were center draft table lamps sold directly by Manhattan Brass. Manhattan Brass manufactured the font and purchased side draft burners to place on their fonts. The version with the Beacon model 3 burner (and later, model 4 burner) likely dates from around 1915 through 1925 or1926.
* J. W. Courter's book "center-draft Kerosene Lamps 1884-1940" |
An E. Miller & Co Juno font with a model 3 Beacon burner
Some late Beacon lamps can be found that use table fonts manufactured by Edward Miller & Co using their Juno center draft tooling modified for aside draft burner. The have been found with both the embossed version and the smooth bowl versions of Juno tooling. |
Beacon model 3 burner on a E. Miller & Co. font
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Beacon Model 1 burner
"PAT. APP. FOR" is stamped at the base of the burner but a patented search has failed to locate a patent that covers this burner. This burner was manufactured by Plume & Atwood and may be the first side draft burner designed within the United States. Plume & Atwood sold this burner to multiple companies.
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Outer wick tube and air diffuser
The Beacon model 1 air diffuser is one piece and fitted to the outer wick tube before the tube's top flange is assembled onto the tube. Note the 2 pins at the bottom of the outer wick tube. The outer wick tube is attached to the burner base in a bayonet style. |
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Burner base
The Beacon model 1 burner base is designed to use a flat wick. The rectangular hole on the bottom is for the wick holder which fits from the top. |
The early Beacon mantle lamp used a flat wick with the top section sewn together.
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Wick holder for all models of Beacon mantle lamps. The wick holder mounts from the top of the burner with the cylinder at the top. The bottom flange is usually bent over to keep the wick from accidentally being adjusted past the gears.
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Model 2 - 4 Beacon mantle lamp burners
This burner design was patented by Plume & Atwood ( 1044961 ) in 1912. The only difference I could find between the model 2 and model 4 burner is the gallery. I'm not sure if the Beacon model 3 burner exists as I can not find it in the literature nor as a label on any lamp I have found.
Outer wick tube for the Beacon models 2 - 4 burner
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Beacon model 1 gallery
Cap mantle
no markings
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Beacon model 2 gallery
Cap mantle
marked "Model - No. 2" inside a box." |
Beacon model 3 gallery
KoneKap mantle
marked "PATENTS APPLIED FOR"
Beacon model 4 gallery
KoneKap mantle
Marked "Model 4 PAT. USA, Mar. 14, 11 Apr 4,11 ... Canada Jan 10,11 ... Belgium Sept 1, 10 ... France Oct 28, 10 Other pats. pending" |
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The Beacon model 1 gallery is identical to the Aladdin model 2 gallery except that the locking flanges along the base of the Beacon gallery are much smaller that the locking flanges on the Aladdin Gallery.
Flame spreader used on the Beacon model 1burner
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Flame spreader used on Beacon model 2 and newer burners |
Beacon lamp Chimney
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The Beacon lamps used the same chimney as the early Aladdin lamps only with the Beacon logo stamped in white ink near the top of the chimney.
Beacon also offered a high altitude chimney that is 16 inches tall. The logo to the left is on a high altitude chimney. |
Hangers and brackets
The Beacon lamps used the same ceiling fixtures and shades as the Aladdin model 2 through 4 lamps. They also used the same wall mounting brackets as the Aladdin model 1 through 4 lamps.
Beacon hanging lamps used the same hanger and shade as this early Aladdin lamp
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Beacon Mantles
Beacon model 3 and 4 burners were also sold on lamps in Sweden
Information and pictures provided by Conny Carlsson
During the 1920s Model 3 and 4 Beacon burners were re-branded and sold to a company in Sweden along with Beacon chimneys, mantles, and presumably replacement wicks. The Gilmark company in the town of
Orebro/Sweden placed these burners on locally manufactured lamp fonts. A US #3 to 14/20 line European 39.5mm thread adapter was used to fit the burner to the lamp font. It is unknown if the adapter was made in the US or Sweden. The winder knob has the Gilmark logo as does the Beacon chimney. The chimney logo also has the company street address and telephone number.
Swedish lamp with Beacon burner imported from the USA
US lamp base #3 to metric
14/20 line European 39.5mm thread adapter
A standard Beacon chimney was used stamped with the Swedish company name, address and phone number.
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