50lanterns

Vital Stats Model:  202 Date:  May 1955 Technology:  Instant Light Mantles:  1 Fuel:  Gasoline Date Acquired:  November 10, 2018   The further I descend into this collector madness, the more I become fixated on a particular model.  For the longest time, that model was the 202. Basically a model 200A  at its heart, it features almost no steel with a claim of being (virtually) rust proof.  Marketed as "The Professional" by Coleman it debuted in 1954 and featured a nickel plated brass fount and collar, and stainless steel burner cage and bail.  All of which are steel on the 200A and, of course, subject to rust. Just the relative scarcity and upgraded features make it highly desirable in the Coleman collector community with values reflecting.  I don't think any collector would call it rare, but they are definitely hard to get your hands on (and can cost a fortune when you do).   Up until I got my first one I had never even seen one in the wild.  That I found this one was almo

   Vital Stats Model:  228E Date:  October 1951 Technology:  Instant Light Mantles:  2 Fuel:  Gasoline Date Acquired:  May 5, 2018 Like their human owners, antiques and collectibles age.  It's just a part of our reality.  But with lanterns, age alone does not necessarily determine condition.  As Indiana Jones put it: "It's not the age, darlin', it's the mileage".   Finding a lantern with 0 miles on the odometer ("unfired") is a find in-and-of itself, regardless of how rare or desirable the model is.  Assuming the lantern has been moderately well protected from the elements, its a time capsule of how it would have looked and operated out of the box, the later assuming you succumb to the temptation to light it.  In some cases they are found with a box, with included literature and accessories, and even in rarer cases they are found still sealed in their box.  It's fun to image how it got purchased, immediately got put on a shelf, and never opened o

  Vital Stats Model: 237 Date: May 1968 Technology: Preheat Mantles: 1 Fuel: Kerosene or Gasoline Date Acquired: December 2, 2017 There's no doubt about it, if you've ever run one: The 237 is the big dawg of the Coleman lantern history. Being a kerosene model it burns a large mantle at 500 candle power.  It is nearly impossible to maintain eye contact with a properly tuned and running 237.   By almost any measure, it is a larger version of the 249  (the ball nut on the 249 is larger).  By candle power measure, until the 1970's it was the brightest that Coleman produced.  Originally built by Coleman Canada for its market in the late 1930's, Coleman USA possibly manufactured one as well, but didn't "offically" include one in it's catalogs until 1941, with the 237A.  In this case the 237A precedes the 237; the only instance I can think of where a letter preceded a letterless model number.  Coleman produced some variant of the 237 until 1974. Collector

Vital Stats Model: 220D Date: 1950 Technology: Instant-light Mantles: 2 Fuel: Gasoline Date Acquired: December 23, 2017 Most of us collectors get reminded at some point or another that our hobby involves pressurized, gasoline appliances that burn at temperatures over 500 degrees, are typically decades old, and built from metals that have a tendency to rust.  For some collectors this reminder can end badly.  For others, like my story below, we live to light another lantern. I have purchased many lanterns like this one, in fact this was even my 3rd or 4th 220D .  In fact this was probably the nicest one I had purchased up to that point . The biggest issue with it was a thick layer of very old evaporated gasoline inside the fount, which was on its way to becoming a varnish but was still "gunky".  I cleaned it out as best I could, but the evaporation had pulled and trapped in some moisture and left the bottom of the inside of the fount with some rust.  Given the condition of t

  Vital Stats Model: 200a Date: July 1981 Technology: Instant-light Mantles: 1 Fuel: Gasoline Date Acquired: October 16, 2017   Before I get into the specifics of this piece, kicking off the 2nd half of this list, I reflect on what inspired me to do this blog in the first place.  Mostly it was to catalog my collection, but I was also going through an exercise of lighting each of my lanterns to evaluate them for function.  Each of my lanterns get fettled before they go on the shelf, but one of the downsides of reconditioning original or donor parts is that they are subject to a more rapid deterioration than a new part.  For example, I took down this 200a and lit it, only to find that it has a leaky check valve.  Something I don't want to discover while on a camping trip.  After a few posts doing exactly this, and with a target of a post each day, this quickly became unattainable.  I chose to keep the 1-a-day target at the expense of actually testing the lantern.  Obviously I have fa

Vital Stats Model: L220 Date: July 1929 Technology: Instant-light Mantles: 2 Fuel: Gasoline Date Acquired: October 14, 2017    I couldn't think of a better model/piece for the mid-point entry.  The L220 "Slant".  The L220 is the first entry in the iconic 220 line. But its differences significantly outnumber the similarities to the letters that followed.  When acquainting oneself with this lantern this becomes apparent from the outset, given the model number itself starts with a letter ("L", for the fount style) rather than being suffixed with one. The L220 is Coleman's first lantern to use "instant-light" technology, wherein a mixture of fuel and air is delivered from the fount and used to preheat the generator.  However, the mechanism is significantly different than what was actually used for or the following 50+ years.  I was so struck by how different this lantern was from it's predecessor (L427 Quick-Light) and its successor ( 220B ), that