The first lantern above -- on the extreme left, reminds me of Diogenes! Let me explain. I had a great uncle who was born sometime during the 1880s. He learned that I was interested in old lanterns and ask me if I was searching for an honest man. He then went on to tell me about this Old Greek Philosopher who took a lantern and walked the streets and countryside searching for an honest man. “Did he ever find one?” I asked. “No,” he replied. Then, he asked me if I had one of those lanterns that had a little “tit” on the side. I told him I didn’t, but I would start looking for one. He went on to tell me about an old friend of his father, by the name of Asa Barnes, who came to visit them one evening, and the experience that he had with the lantern. The old gentleman stayed the night with the family. When it was time to go to bed he was given a lantern to light his way to the bedroom. The lantern was one that had that “little tit” on the side. My uncle told me he heard this blowing and wheezing coming from their guest’s bedroom. It seems that the old gentleman had difficulty extinguishing the flame by blowing through the little projection that can be seen on the right air tube of the first lantern. My uncle assumed the old man had simply lost his “pucker”! I haven’t seen this projection on any other air tubes, only this one. I have always wanted to test it; perhaps I will. The lantern has no provisions for lifting the globe and blowing directly on the flame. There is, however, a hole in the perforated plate that is larger than the other perforations that could have permitted one to push a lighted match through to light the wick. In an illustrated brochure published by the Dietz Company the latest improvement for this lantern was the Outside Extinguisher! The lantern could be Lighted, Regulated. And Extinguished without removing the globe -- supposedly the tubular lantern didn’t heat the kerosene, it produced no smoke or smell, it endures any wind and motion, and the glass remains so cool that rain will not break it. The advertisement goes on to say that the glass can be removed, cleansed, and replaced in a moment. Further, it produces more light and is more reliable than any other lantern. If that was not enough to convince the would be buyer -- the clincher would be that it will burn five hours at the cost of one cent, and IT CANNOT EXPLODE. The canopy above the globe on this lantern does not move. To remove the globe one has to lift the tab seen on the canopy; this disengages the wires holding the globe in place. The patent dates are from the late 1860s -- it was reissued in 1879. The height is 13 ½ inches and the diameter of the base is 5 ¾ inches.

The next lantern with the ruby globe was made by the C T Ham Manufacturing Company. It is marked No O SSS. (Side Spring Safety) The plate is locked in place so that if the lantern is upset the burner cannot fall out. The side tubes are different from many older lanterns in that they are not round or square. Instead they taper slightly toward the inside. The globe is protected somewhat by two guards that are soldered to the side tubes. Another feature of this lantern is the wire loop that is attached to the top of a sleeve that fits over the top of the air tube. By lifting this, the globe is raised allowing one to light the wick or blow out the flame. The globe is held in place by the two spring guides that can be seen about one third the distance from the bottom of the globe. The globe is removed by lifting the wire tab seen on the canopy; this removes the wire holder from around the top of the globe allowing it to be easily removed for cleaning or replacement. The lantern is 13 ½ inches tall and the base diameter is 6 ¼ inches across.

The third lantern is marked: DIETZ NEW YORK USA. On the top of the other side of the font is the word ROYAL. There is a lift on the side that raises the globe so that the burner can be accessed. The globe can be removed in the same way it is removed in other hot blast lanterns, by lifting the tab on the canopy upward to remove the wires securing the globe. This lantern is not as old as the other three seen in the picture; the filler cap is larger -- and the crossed globe guards are of a later type.

The fourth lantern has a green globe in it. The top of the font is marked: BERGER on one side; on the other, just the word PATENTED. It was probably manufactured by the Berger Manufacturing.