ENGLISH LAMPE
BELGE
by Alex Marrack
Other articles
by Alex Marrack
Centre Draught Oil Lamps
English and European Models
The L&B Lamp Belge or Belgian
Lampe
The
original patent for these lamps dates from 1884, and
earlier examples are labelled Lampe Belge, and usually
have plain brass wick knobs. Later examples are called
'Improved Lampe Belge' and show an 1893 patent. They are
also usually labelled Thermidor Belge on the filler cap,
and usually have an engraved black winder knob with a
'smiley-sun' trade mark and the legend 'In Lux Way'.
Whilst they look very similar to the Belgian made lamps
they are considerably heavier made, and were almost
certainly made by the 'Midland Lighting Company' in
Birmingham, England.
They share the same style of chimney grips with the
Belgian product, and the burner baskets look similar.
However, very few parts are interchangeable. The most
usual size is the 20 line, though 15 line and 30 line are
also to be found. The 20 line size is available in
both raiser and non-raiser versions. Unusually, the
burners cannot be swapped over, the raiser burner is
taller, and will only work on a fount with the
correct, taller, draught tube. This must have entailed a
lot of extra stocking by factory and dealers, as every
fount variety needed to be stocked in raiser and
non-raiser version. It also prevented the customer from
upgrading a lamp by buying a raiser burner should they
suddenly feel wealthy enough!
|
|
|
|
|
English Lamp Belge
table lamp
|
Complete burner
showing flame spreader
|
Draft tubes and
flame spreader support. Note the lift
key.
|
The spreader looks similar to the Belgian lamps, but, as
can be seen in the pictures, the support is in the form
of a narrow tube, and the spreader has a brass pin,
whereas the L&B Belge is the other way around. Two
other English lamps (the Messengers 54cp and the English
Juno) also share what is essentially the same spreader
and support.
The majority of English Belge lamps are in the form of
drop-founts for fitting into floor stand lamps, hangers
and brackets, table lamp versions are relatively rare.
These lamps are well made, and do not usually deteriorate
unless abused. Spreaders are usually missing, and
spreader supports are often ripped out for electrocution,
with the draught tube often shortened as well.
Spares available for the
20''' size include wicks, flamespreaders, chimneys,
shades and galleries. These lamps perform well and will
accept the Round-English chimney.
Back to top of page
