Very little is known about the Ironclad brand lamps. The only literature describing the lamp I have been able to locate is from Anton Kaim's book "The Evolution of the Kerosene Mantle Burner" ( Available from the author English and Dutch versions. German version is available via the German web site of Juergen Breidenstein ). Anton's description is for the 1925 model 1 version which is very similar. Neither Anton nor I have been able to locate a patent on the burner itself or to identify the manufacturer of the lamp. There is speculation that the lamp was manufactured in Germany, then the parts shipped to the UK to be assembled allowing them to claim "British Make". Anton's research shows the ironclad lamp to be virtually identical to the 1925 version of the British make, Raylite lamp introduced in 1924. I speculate that the manufacturer of these lamps independently sold lamps to both Sherwood Ltd and Raylite and that the two companies did not have a relationship with one another other than being competitors for the same market. The Ironclad lamp was marketed in the UK and possibly other parts of the British Empire. The model 2 lamp in my collection was purchased from a seller in Australia.
The Ironclad brand lamps were sold and distributed by Sherwoods Limited, an English lamp factory in Birmingham, England. Sherwoods Ltd, a company that primarily produced flat wick lamps, and was managed by Sydney Harry Sherwood. Sidney Sherwood held several British lamp patents starting from around 1911, mostly for flat wick burner features. In 1924 he was granted a patent for a combined wick trimmer and filler cap. This trimmer/cap is a distinctive feature on both the Ironclad and Raylite lamps. In 1929 Mr. Sherwood, along with Blood, Ltd. received a patent for burner modifications that allowed dual use of the lamp as both a mantle lamp and as a heat source. It is my theory is that is when the Ironclad model 2 was introduced.
GB patent 231075 covering the combination wick trimmer and filler cap.
Page 1 (all pdf files)
Page 2
Page 3
Page 4 (drawings)
GB patent 326120 covering the use of the lamp as a heat source as well as an incandescent mantle lamp.
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