Posted 11 days ago
Lcalloway
(1 item)
Shapleigh Hardware Co. Norleigh Diamond light. Says Pat. Appl’d For. Early 1900’s ? Possibly used by the military.
Vintage battery tubular light | ||
| Military and Wartime5 of 7451 |  |  |
Vintage battery tubular light | ||
| Military and Wartime5 of 7451 | | |
Lcalloway loves this.
Drake47 loves this.
rgrebov loves this.
Reise loves this.
dav2no1 loves this.
Merrill33 loves this.Tilted loves this.
vcal loves this.kev123 loves this.
collectorpaul loves this.
BHIFOS loves this.
Newfld loves this.
kwqd loves this.
Vynil33rpm loves this.
fortapache loves this.Create a Show & TellReport as inappropriate
Posted 11 days ago
Lcalloway
(1 item)
Shapleigh Hardware Co. Norleigh Diamond light. Says Pat. Appl’d For. Early 1900’s ? Possibly used by the military.
Help us close this case. Add your knowledge below.
Create an account or login in order to post a comment.
Lcalloway, Cool. :-)
Insofar as I can tell, if the name on the item is "Shapleigh Hardware Co.," then the oldest it can be is 1918:
http://www.thckk.org/history/shapleigh-history.pdf
http://www.thckk.org/Newsletters/THCKKChronicles134.pdf
https://unseenstlouis.substack.com/p/not-just-another-abandoned-warehouse
I did some more noodling around the Net.
There's a Facebook group dedicated to tubular lanterns, and mention is made of a "Ham patent" on a Norleigh Diamond lantern:
*snip*
Ham made, the double walled vented baffle is a Ham patent. Love the wooden bail grip on these Norleigh Diamond jobbers.
*snip*
https://www.facebook.com/groups/152180158150792/posts/8674102452625144/
*snip*
In rehabbing my last Ham lantern found the patent dates ...
Just got this today, Norleigh Diamond -Shapleigh Hardware. She is in the tank. 3 layers of paint , black, white, then red.
*snip*
https://www.facebook.com/groups/152180158150792/posts/8665686976800025/
Unfortunately, seeing more requires a login, which I don't have.
Here's a 1913 piece from the Hardware Reporter about the Norvelle-Shapleigh Hardware Company (this was before the name change):
https://www.collectors-of-schrades-r.us/Gimlet/Norvell-Shapleigh-1913.pdf
The flashlight was still a relatively new concept even in 1918 (when the company name change to Shapleigh Hardware Co. happened):
https://ledlenser.com/en/advisor/invention-of-the-flashlight/
https://www.thoughtco.com/invention-of-the-flashlight-1991794
Here's David Misell's 1899 patent for the flashlight, which seems quite recognizable (well, until you expand it):
https://patents.google.com/patent/US617592A/en
There are some Norleigh Diamond flashlights in the 1913 Gimlet catalog:
https://www.collectors-of-schrades-r.us/Gimlet/Gimlet-Nov-1913s.pdf
Here's an outfit that has multiple editions of Norvell-Shapleigh and Shapleigh Hardware Company catalogs:
https://www.orcaonline.org/product-category/orca-library/s-letter/shapleigh/
Unfortunately, it requires a login to look at them.
Anyway, those handles on your vintage flashlight make me wonder. Misell was originally trying to create a portable light for a bicycle. Could that be the purpose of the handles?