#13 - 1971 72215(Sears) - A rose by another name

Vital Stats
Model: 72215 (Sears)
Date: April 1971
Technology: Instant-Lite
Mantles: 1
Fuel: Gasoline
Date Acquired: December 7, 2016


When this lantern showed up on Craigslist, 3 things attracted me to it:
1. It was blue, which would add some much needed color to my mostly green and red (and one brown) collection.
2. It had a plastic "clamshell" carrying case.
3. It was a Sears.

Coleman had mades lanterns for Sears, and other retailers, since the 1920's, and most Coleman aficionados easily recognize parts and design similarities between the Coleman and Sears branded models. That said, Coleman always designed in some features (like color), whether intentionally or by request, that set the Sears models apart from the Coleman stock, but the similarities were more numerous.  

This 72215, and its avocado green sibling (72241) are highly sought after by collectors due to their colors, sturdy build and relative rareness compared with their Coleman counterparts of the same era. They are also very bright runners!

They also feature a unique, tapered globe with a frosted band across the middle. Mine came with no globe as the original was broken and no replacement had been fitted. These globes can be very hard to find, and when they are found are usually quite expensive.  I chose to fit mine with a similar tapered globe usually found on one of a couple of propane models that Coleman produced in the 70's and 80's, but without the frosted band, that are very easy to find and affordable.  They also feature the Coleman logo which the Sears do not. 


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

#9 - 1973 228H Gold Bond - Gold fever

#30 - 1955 202 - Even a blind squirrel...

#4 - 1986 288A - Stepping up my game