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 | ||
| Unsolved mystery items11 of 96554 |  |  |
Vintage battery tubular light | ||
| Unsolved mystery items11 of 96554 | | |
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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.
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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?