Tilley household lamps pre-1945



These Tilley TL 10's are
one of the earliest models by this company.
The one on the left, from
1922-later 20's, in Kenny Connolly's collection,
has the original shade,
smooth handle, and a shut-off valve on the left side of the fount.
Next to the left, in Neil
McRae's collection, dates to around 1928, also has a brass fount and fluted
handle.
Second from the right,
in Jeff Johnson's collection, dates to the 1930's, and has a chrome fount;
and the one on the right,
in Neil's collection, was perhaps made during WWII
as it lacks the pressure
indicator which would have saved material.
The shade on this last
one is an original Champagne color.
This table lamp model,
like the TL models that follow,
are 300 cp, kerosene burning
lamps with a 1.5 Imperial pint fount.
This lamp is the Model
VL1 vase lamp dating from 1928-32.
The vase is the Old Gold
color, while the shade is from the 50's but is comparable to the original.
Neil McRae got this lamp
from a man, who, as a newly married groundsman at one of England's great
houses,
was given the lamp by the
lady of the house for their cottage on the grounds.
The light would have cost
them three to four week's wages.
It was their main source
of light for 20 years.
The burner head and old
Tilley globe is from the VL1 lamp above.
Neil says that Tilley made
this "Silent Burner" from 1927 or 28 until no later than 1934.
It was used on all indoor
models that required a gallery and provision for a shade.
It is not much quieter
than the normal burner, which lacks the upper flanges.
Solder and rivets hold
the burner and gallery
so that it is not easy
to make a replacement of just the gallery.
Another Model VL1, the
vase on this lamp is Saxe Blue,
another of the six colors
produced for this lamp by Bretby art pottery.
The vaes ares very collectable
in their own right.
This lamp is in Jeff Johnson's
collection.
Another Tilley lamp, this
is model IL37, made between 1930-34.
This is a 300 candlepower
single burner version of their CL71 outdoor chandelier.
It has a sliding counter
balance weight on the back arm
and a swivelling reflector
so that the light can be directed to some extent.
A peg under the fount allows
for stand mounting although they have never seen this.
The lamp is in Roger Price's
collection; the image is courtesy of Neil McRae.
Tilley made the Model CL72
chandelier lamp in the 1930's.
This indoor model has opal
shades; the fount holds 2.5 Imperial pints.
One or both burners could
be used on this lamp;
the lamp would run for
10 hrs. using both burners.
This lamp is in Jeff Johnson's
collection.

Two of the "Jacobean" ML96,
a table lamp model
that was sold between 1932-40.
The lamp on the left is
in Neil McRae's collection;
from the collection of
the late John Findlay.
This model was sold with
a fancy cloth shade with a deep fringe.
The lamp on the right,
in Roger Price's collection, dates to the late '30's.
Image courtesy of Neil
McRae.
Above are two copper Tilley
ML93 founts.
The smaller fount on the
left was used from the late 1920's to early 1930's
while the larger copper
fount on the right was used from the mid to late 1930's.
These founts are in Jeff
Johnson's collection.
The smaller fount isn't
large enough to take an internal pump
so requires a separate
one as below.


Model IL 33 is a 300 cp
kerosene donut lamp that was manufactured between 1933-40.
The original fount color
was black and smaller diameter - 10" (left), in Kenny Connolly's collection,
vs. the later 12" green
fount (center and right), in Neil McRae's collection.
The small brass shield
soldered to the fount identifies these lamps as being made between 1933-35.
The image on the right
is of the filler cap which has a provision for a pump
attachment to pressurize
the fount, a system used in all Tilley donut models.

These Model TL 11 table
lamps date to 1935-40, left,
and 1940-46, right; a different,
post-1940 valve is visible on the latter.
The lamp on the left is
chrome plated
while the one on the right
is painted gold.
These lamps are in Neil
McRae's collection.


These Model TL 13 table
lamps (left & center) and TL 14 (right) date from 1935-40
and are thus contemporary
with Models 10 and 11 above.
The opal shade (left) was
also an option on the Model 10 from the early '30's to '46
and on the Models 106/136
below until 1952.
This lamp is in Neil McRae's
collection.
The lamp on the right,
with the vitreosil shade, is in Herman Mulder's collection.
Model TL 14 in the less
common chrome finish and with No 182 globe is in Kenny Connolly's collection.
This indoor wall bracket
300 cp lamp is Model WL25
which was manufactured
between 1935-40.
At the time a chrome model
cost about $1.25 US
more than the standard
gold painted model, a significant extra expense.
This lamp is also in Neil
McRae's collection.
Another Tilley wall bracket
lamp, this is Model WL27.
While bracket lamps were
manufactured by Tilley until the 1960's,
this lamp dates to the
1930's.
This lamp has an original
Vitreosil globe
and is in Jeff Johnson's
collection.