L.104

A truly imposing, time-honoured zinc cast lamp by R. Ditmar from the Historicism period. This lamp is also not shown in the 1897 catalogue. It is more likely to date from around 1880, based on the burner patented in 1877. Another Ditmar lamp (L.095) has the same burner, which differs from the later, normal Kosmos burners in that the lower wick guide is not semi-circular as usual, but narrow-rectangular, and the burning tube is divided in two on the inside by a brass plate. This burner is not mentioned in the Ditmar catalogues I know.

The lamp is very intricately constructed from several parts, some cast zinc, some sheet zinc. When I got it, all ornate zinc castings had an almost uniform grey appearance due to abrasion and weathering. Only the black-painted, smooth parts still retained their original colour. When I cleaned it, I discovered that there were still traces of gold bronzing. I cleaned all the parts properly. I painted the black zinc parts black again and polished them. The cast zinc parts, on the other hand, I primed with shoe polish and bronzed with Florentine gold.

The beautiful, large St. Louis tulip shade was a perfect match for this lamp. I had bought it much earlier for another lamp. However, it needed a 100 mm globe holder. I left the original 95 mm Ditmar globe holder in place and added a 100 mm globe holder.

Lamp Data

Added by me:
Glass chimney, additional globe holder and tulip shade.

Cleaning and repairs:
Zinc plates and zinc casting rings repainted (Revell 8 Matt) and polished. Other zinc castings primed with shoe polish and bronzed dark gold with gold wax (Or Florentine).

Lamp body:
Base of stepped turned slate, painted black, Ø 153 mm.
Vase as a combination of zinc cast elements and black painted zinc sheet parts, with own foot fixed on stone base. 2 handles of cast zinc. Vase Ø 149 mm, with handles 203 mm. In the vase an additional container of galvanised sheet iron, marked: R. Ditmar Wien.
Drop-in font of clear glass, cemented under the cast zinc lid. Font lid Ø 133 mm. Font collar with Ditmar decoration.

Burner:
14’’’ Wiener-Brenner (Kosmos type) of R. Ditmar, Vienna.
Wick knob marked: R. Ditmar Wien (logo of R. Ditmar).
Wick tube marked: Ditmar Wiener-Brenner Pat. 1877.
Flat wick 70 mm.

Glass chimney:
14’’’ Kosmos chimney. Height 263 mm, Ø fitter 52 mm.
Marked: Super Cristal de Bohême 14''' - Importé de Tchécoslovaquie + star in an oval frame.

Shade and shade holder:
Tulip shade by St. Louis, colourless glass, frosted, deep-etched floral pattern, top rim cut 5 times angular.
Height 185 mm, Ø fitter 101 and bulge 175 mm.
95 mm globe holder for 14’’’/15’’’ burners, original by R. Ditmar. Additional 100 mm globe holder for 14’’’/15’’’ burners.

Lamp dimensions:
Height up to collar 39.8 cm, total height with chimney 69.2 cm.
Total weight 5270 g.