L.359

A rare Martin lamp from the UK, complete with its Martin burner! As it was completely nondescript in the eBay photos, no one but me was interested in the lamp; and it came to me dirt cheap. Collector's luck...

There was nothing special about this lamp at first glance; it was a typical, solidly built, but somewhat boring British lamp. On second glance, however, I discovered that the burner with two wick knobs was not a Duplex burner, but a rare Martin burner. In retrospect, by looking at 2-3 other Martin lamps for comparison, I found out that the complete lamp is by the English constructor Abraham Martin.

The interesting part of the lamp is the rare Martin burner, which dates from the 1880's (see Other Burners - The Martin Burner). It is a round burner of about 16 lines, but - completely different from normal round burners with one wick - it combines two separate flat wicks at the top into one round wick. Each wick is moved by its own wick knob. The basket pattern of the burner here is identical to the pattern of Wild & Wessel’s Central Vulkan burner; therefore I assume that W&W produced the outer part (basket and gallery) for Martin. However, there is also another Martin basket with a much simpler basket pattern. The burner needs two wicks of about 37 mm each. I didn't have any wicks of this width, so I cut two wicks to fit from a 77 mm wick and sewed the sides together. This burner needs a conventional 14'' Kosmos chimney.

The interesting part of the lamp is the rare burner by Martin, which dates from the 1880's (see Other Burners in Kerosene/Paraffin Burners in General Information). It is a 14’’’ round burner that connects two flat wicks at the top to form a tubular wick. The basket pattern is identical to the Wild & Wessel’s Central Vulkan burner pattern; so I assume W&W produced the outer part (basket and gallery) for Martin. The burner needs two wicks of about 37 mm each. As I didn't have any wicks in this width, I cut two wicks to fit from a 77 mm wick and sewed the sides.

It was a stroke of luck that I got a 14’’’ Kosmos chimney with a British brand, which of course looks particularly authentic here. The large white ball shade is new production but complements the lamp very stylishly.

As simple as the lamp looks, as dignified and high-quality is its manufacture. Very dignified British quality.

Lamp Data

Added by me:
Glass chimney and ball shade.

Cleaning and repairs:
See above.

Lamp body:
Base of profiled, ornamentally decorated sheet brass, Ø 178 mm. In the base an iron weight of three parts. A connector of sheet brass between the vase and the base.
Vase of plain sheet brass without ornamentation, Ø 148 mm. In the vase an additional container of sheet brass.
Drop-in font made of sheet brass. Font lid ornamentally decorated, Ø 150 mm.

Burner:
14’’’ Martin burner of Martin, Birmingham. Special round burner with two wicks and two wick knobs.
Two wick knobs marked: Martin's Patent.
Two flat wicks, each 37 mm (from a 77 mm flat wick). Calculated size: ca. 16 lines.

Glass chimney:
14’’’ Kosmos chimney. Height 259 mm, Ø fitter 53 mm.
Marked: Clock Brand Fireproof - Made in Saxony + clock.

Shade and shade holder:
Ball shade, white milk glass, colourless overlay on both sides. Heavy glass. New production.
Height 185 mm, Ø fitter 97 and bulge 197 mm.
100 mm globe holder for 20’’’ burners.

Lamp dimensions:
Height up to collar 28.9 cm, total height with chimney 58.9 cm.
Total weight 3330 g.