Coleman
lanterns pre-1931


Left to right, the Yale
Arc lantern, the Coleman Arc lantern, Model 316,
and the Sunshine Safety
Arc lantern, all made by Coleman.
The ventilator on the first
two is brass while the third is steel under the nickel plating.
The third one also has
a tip cleaner above the generator.
These three lanterns are
all in Craig Seabrook's collection
and were restored by him.
Model H416 is far less
common than Model 316 above.
Ernie Hiatt, who owns this
lantern, believes that it is a kerosene version of this model.
It has several part differences
from the above including the generator, a tip cleaner,
burner, drop tubes, and
caps,
and the chimney under the
vent is cylindrical rather than conical.
The lighting hole is a
swing, rather than sliding, door

A Yale version (left) of
the Coleman Air-O-Lantern 319 (right),
both made by Coleman between
1914 and 1919.
Both of these lanterns
are in Matt Moore's collection
and were restored by him.
Model IL 323 was a torch
lighting model made in 1916-17.
The tip cleaner wire hangs
below the globe cage;
this wire is missing on
the lantern on the right.
The lantern on the left
may have been assembled by Coleman
with an extra IL 319 fount.
These lanterns are in Don
Colston's collection.

Model NL 323 is also torch
lighting as IL 323 above
but lacks the tip cleaner
assembly.
There is a screw above
the torch lighting generator
where the orifice enters
the burner chamber (right image).
This lantern is in Dan
Boschen's collection.
This lantern is not to
be confused with Economy Lamp Co. Model
408.
Air-O-Lantern Model QL
(left) ca. 1920 and L327 (right) 1920-24, sans logo and date stamp.
These two Coleman models
were found in France.
They are unusual because
they were never nickel-plated
but the brass was polished
and lacquered
and the collars and globe
cages were painted gold.
Neil McRae, whose collection
these are in, believes they were made this way
for the French market in
the early 1920's.
Another lantern as above,
Model LQ, dates to the early 20's.
The center base plate is
stamped "Coleman Quick-Lite
Made in Toronto, Canada."
The collar is also marked
Quick-Lite, not Air-O-Lantern
as on the Wichita, USA,
QL version of this model.
The mica globe was removed
for the image.
There is no documented
evidence that Coleman made a chandelier with lantern heads,
however, this chandelier,
in Brad Stephenson's collection,
has no evidence of solder
in the lower portions of the fuel valve assemblies
where a fuel uptake tube
from the fount would have been fastened
and there are no bail attachment
marks on the frame posts.
The embossed ventilators
date it to 1922 or later.

The Coleman Quick-Lite
327 was sold from 1920 to 1924
from the Wichita (USA)
plant with no date stamp.
This lantern, in Ron Lenfield's
collection,
includes the box and accessories.
Although this lantern has
a later style baffle plate,
the usual baffle plate
in this version is as in the right image.
This Coleman Model 327
QuickLite lantern was manufactured in July, 1925.
This lantern is in Fred
Kuntz's collection
Fred restored this lantern
which includes his reproduction
mica globe.
The wall shelf was made
by Craig Seabrook.
You can see the globe reproductions
they sell on the links page.
The Coleman Company in
Canada made this 427
QuickLite lantern in April,
1927.
This lantern has an original
Q99 generator
and a new-old-stock (NOS)
#327 13 piece mica globe.
This lantern is in George
Rocen's collection.
These two QuickLite lanterns
are unusual
because the pump is only
partially mounted in the fount.
The check valve is can
be seen between the pump and filler cap.
Air from the pump is piped
up to the top of the fount.
These are two of only three
lanterns known of this type
and may be an earlier,
experimental design.
The Coleman name is barely
visible at the bottom of the mica globe on the right.
The lantern on the left
is in Bob Willard's collection
and the lantern on the
right is in Dean DeGroff's collection.


Model E20, the Quick-Lite
Jumbo Gas Lantern, with a built-on pump (left),
and the Quick-Lite Poultry
House Lantern, without a pump (center),
and a Canadian Quick-Lite
Jumbo lantern, without a pump but with a pressure gauge (right),
all featured a 1 gallon
fuel tank.
Steel wool and a coil of
asbestos "rope" inside the globe rest
kept dust from clogging
the air intake and fuel from dripping on the floor.
The lanterns on the left
and center are in Jerry Engbring's collection;
the lantern on the right
is in Ernie Hiatt's collection.

Coleman made the L220 (above)
and L228 (below) for a short time in 1928.
The L220 above, dated Aug.
'28, is running with the original T88 generator.
To accomodate the pump,
which is mounted into the
center of the fount,
the fuel pickup tube had
to swivel for removal (below the 2nd set of threads).
Note the air tube along
the left side of the fuel pickup tube,
which is necessary for
the Instant Lite feature.
Coleman lantern Models
220 (left) and L228 (right).
The Model 220 has the slant
Q77 generators and is dated July 1929,
while the L228 has the
T-88 generator and is dated Oct. 1928.
We think the different
style of the valve knobs indicates the type of generator.
These lanterns are in Craig
Seabrook's collection.
Coleman made fewer than
seventeen hundred L227 lanterns
in 1927-33, according to
Neil McRae.
Other lanterns of this
wide ventilator Quick-Lite model
have a flattened ball nut
and four square indentations
spaced around the perimeter
of the ventilator.
The mica globe is a reproduction
by Fred Kuntz.
In 1927 Coleman advertised
an accessory ventilator, No. 216-490,
to convert an L327 or 427
to an L227 with a retail price of $2.10.
The advertisement says:
"This makes the Lantern a most desirable light for use in henhouses,
work shops, barns and feed
lots, or any place where concentrated light is desired.
Especially good for night
fishing."
This lantern is in Dick
Sellers' collection.

Two versions of the Coleman
Quicklite lantern, Model 427,
in Craig Seabrook's collection.
The red ventilator version
on the left
has a Coleman globe from
the period and is dated Feb. '29.
The green ventilator version
on the right is dated Oct. '33.
These lanterns came with
mica globes originally.

Coleman made the LZ327
(left) and LZ427 (right) lanterns for the Yale Light Co.
Coleman no longer made
lanterns for their own brand
with a separate post from
the air intake tube,
which is curved in these
models, to hold the burner.
The mica globes were removed
for the images.
The lantern on the right
is in Don Colston's collection.