Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railroad Lantern

Lake Shore & Michigan Southern brass top, bellbottom railroad lantern made by the Buffalo Steam Gauge and Lantern Co., in Buffalo, NY, around 1880. This piece is an early no. 39 style offering from this manufacturer. This lantern is prominently marked LS&MS on the base and has early 1871 patent dates (Parmelee & Bonnell patents) stamped into the lid reflector. It also has a sliding globe adjuster with rotating collar on the chimney. The collar is stamped with an 1878 patent date, this patent assigned to C.T. Ham, then an employee and inventor with the BSG&L Co. This classic, double-guarded frame has early bail eyelets formed in the vertical guard wires for attaching the bail directly to the lantern frame, an improvement over the somewhat typical and problematic chimney bail attachment used in lanterns of this era. The clear, extended base globe is embossed LS&MS Ry in heavy relief. The fine vent hole filigree in the chimney makes this model particularly eye-appealing.