My objective all along has been to be able to nail the dates of the three most common Dietz lanterns. I can pretty-well do that now. I also have enough HY-LOs, D-Lites, Wizards and Little Wizards to date all of them fairly accurately. Recording a matrix for each is a very long process that I intend to shorten by issuing a more user-friendly pictorial dating guide that shows the various details and the dates they were used, rather than a tedious list detailing every part of every lantern. The pictorial is still a huge task, but more efficient.
The Blizzard Group (108 lanterns) has so-far revealed 27 versions (not counting the 4 Streamline versions), and 3 or 4 versions I know are missing. I appears that the Junior has around half as many variations. I know I am missing 1906-1908, and 1910. How they look can be predicted from the others. Then there is 1916 when we know the Junior got a large fill and changed globe wires;but, which came first? Somewhere out there is a Junior with only one of those changes. Actually, I might even have that transition lantern once they are all rounded-up. The main problem I have, living among 2000 tubular lanterns, is finding the one that I want to examine. This is my third Summer building lantern enclaves in my back yard (The Lantern Garden) to separate the various makers. The recently completed C.T. HAM Enclave is now displaying 75 Ham lanterns that don't fit in the Gallery. Other overflow lanterns are currently stuffed into the Defiance and Embury Enclaves, and the Dietz Deck is home to the Monarch and Blizzard Groups. I could go on endlessly, because the more we look, the more we find. I think that is partly what makes tubulars so fascinating. I have studied Blizzards for over 4 years and know there are 4 to 6 different versions of everything: founts, bails, tubes, burners, lids, lifts and pull-rings; yet, it was only recently that I discovered they used 3 different lift-lever terminations on the back of the left tube.
Responses
Responses are not allowed!
Create your own free message board!