KOSMOS-BRENNER LAMPS & WICKS

Aimé Argand of Switzerland invented and patented the Argand lamp in 1780.  This lamp burned whale oil, but used a circular wick with a separate reservoir.  The invention of kerosene in the early 1850's lead to the inexpensive flat wick kerosene lamps, essentially ending the life of the Argand lamp.  The concepts developed by Argand, however, would resurface with the folded wick Kosmos style burner in 1865 and the separate fuel reservoir being employed for "student lamps" by Manhattan Brass Co. and Kleemann of Germany. 

Wild & Wessel of Berlin in 1865 developed "Kosmos" burner, where a flat-wick formed is round. To obtain clean burning, a side draft was used to induce combustion air to the center of the circle of wick.  The side draft burner obviated the need for a central air shaft through the fuel reservoir, and were easier to manufacture than center draft lamps.  To direct the air flow properly past the flame, these burners used a pinched, reduced diameter chimney. 

Brokelmann, Jager & Co. from Neheim A/D Ruhr, Germany, took over this burner trademark in 1899, changing the name from W&W Kosmos to Kosmos-Brenner.  This information can be used to date a lamp.

About 1895, Ehrich & Graetz of Berlin introduced the "Matador" burner, in which a flame spreader was used.  Depending upon the width of the disk, chimneys were either straight or had a pronounced bulge.  The "Sebastianbrenner" burner below used a medium sized disk on a mesh tube with a straight chimney, for example.

Den Haan in Rotterdam (Netherlands) and Gaudard in France (Kosmos) still produce Kosmos-Brenner lamps.  The Kosmos #14 burner is a Brenner design, and the Kosmos #15 burner is a Matador with flame spreader.

Wicks for Kosmos-Brenner lamps were measured by the flat width by the designation of "lines,"  symbolized by ''' for "line."  Light output being a function of the top surface area of a wick, the wider the wick the greater the light output.  Kosmos sizes are listed below for 6''' to 14'''.  Above 14 line, individual makers and countries had different ''' standards.

6''' = 1 3/8"

8''' = 1 5/8"

10''' = 1 7/8"

14''' = 2 5/8"

40''' = 3 5/8"

50''' = 4"

KOSMOS-BRENNER WICKS ARE AVAILABLE HERE.

PHOTOS OF LAMPS

     

 A nice assortment of Kosmos-Brenner lamps.

At left,  a 6''' with the correct chimney burning with a 10''' and 14''' lamp together. Nice group photo!

Lamps owned and photographed by Alex Muzyka.

Click on photos to enlarge them.

This is a "Sebastianbrenner" burner made by Schwintzer & Gräff in Berlin on a L&B fount. This burner belongs to a family of burners called the "Weisslichtbrenner" or "white flame burner". They use a straight glass chimney.  20''' burner, 90mm flat wick.

Lamp owned and photographed by Alex Muzyka.

Metal font lamp with #6 Kosmos-Brenner burner.  The burner is aluminum and was made in Japan.  The chimney is not correct.  A 6''' Kosmos burner is very economical of fuel.

#6 Kosmos-Brenner burner

An interesting side draft 14''' Matador lamp made by Lempereur & Bernard (L&B). It uses a standard 14''' 2 1/2" flat wick. This lamp is most interesting as it has a weird flat flame spreader (for a Kosmos-Brenner burner) and is a weird size for a Matador burner.  Left, above; lamp unlighted.  Center, lamp lighted.  Right, the unusual flame from the flat flame spreader.  Lamp owned and photographed by Alex Muzyka.

 

Den Haan nautical table lamp. A classic Kosmos-Brenner burner with a weighted base which can be set in a gimbal mount for use at sea. 

2 9/16" x 9"  "14 line" wick

Kosmos Concierge lamp with #15 burner unit.

Any quality lamp will burn brighter with less fumes and wick charring when burning mineral spirits. On the left is a photo taken without a flash of a Kosmos Concierge easily producing enough light by which to read.  The Concierge lamp is very handy to carry and store on a wall when not in use.

2 9/16" x 9"  "14 line" wick

 

At right is my B&H "Imperial" lamp in operation for the first time in over a century.  It is always a thrill to get a beautiful old lamp back in use after years of neglect.  The contrasting colors - bottom polished brass, center silver, top polished brass - are highlighted beautifully.  The reflection on the wall in the center of the photograph is from light reflecting from the silver tray under the lamp base.

The Imperial burner unit is extremely rare, actually being a Kosmos-Brenner type flat wick burner using a 3 5/8" wide, 40''' (line) wick. This is an extremely rare non-circular wick B&H lamp.

Very early American "Imperial" Kosmos-Brenner burner produced (or sold by) by B & H.  Patent 19 Aug. 1884. From left to right: the wick winding knob; the base of the burner; the burner from the side; and the burner installed on the insert font. Note this is a marked B&H font but there is no fill cap - the standard Kosmos-Brenner style.

 

 

PRINCIPLE KOSMOS CHIMNEY LAMP BASE DIAMETERS (Other chimneys here)

1 5/16"

 6 '’‘ Kosmos

1 7/16"

 8 ‘’‘ Kosmos

1 1/2"

 10 ‘’‘ Kosmos

1 7/8"

 12 ''' Kosmos

2"

 14 ‘’‘ Kosmos (British?)

2 1/16"

 14 ''' Kosmos (American?)

2 1/8" - 2 1/4"

 16 ''' Kosmos

2 7/16"

 18 ''' Kosmos

 

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Information on Kerosene Heaters and Wicks