The first production of instant lighting lanterns was in March, 1928 when Coleman made the L220 and L228 (above- missing mica globe). Place your finger over the hole in the air intake tube where the generator just came out of. Use an air compressor to blow-out the burner assembly by holding the air nozzle under the burner cap(s) and blowing air up into the lantern.
This case, in Bill Whitten’s collection, is 6 1/8″ square x 13 1/8″ tall without the gas can and holds a Coleman 200A. The funnel and spout fit in the upper corners of the case. The Charles Beseler Co., New York, made this 237 projector lantern. It is unique among the three in having an attachment to show lantern slides (lower image) in addition to 35mm slides and film strips (upper image).
The mixing chamber casting has 3 datum targets unique to those made in the Wichita factory. The brass sided, green painted fount is also characteristic of that time. Coleman made hundreds of Arc lantern Model H 416 from 1922 – 1925 (Strong – Shipping Records). This lantern was restored by Steve Retherford for Mike Coon, whose collection this is in. Coleman made the Model 200A for 32 years beginning in 1951. The lantern in the center has a replacement globe and fuel cap.
The lightweight Coleman® Kids 44 Lumens Adventure Mini LED Lantern works well when camping with kids or as a portable bedside light. It has one of the longest runtimes you’ll find in a light of its size—up to 16 hours on 4 AA batteries (sold separately). Plus, the lifetime LEDs run cool and never need to be replaced. Taking cues from the floorplans and lifestyle to create a balance of comfort and timeless designs ensures the design intersects style and performance. Creating a space that you are proud to live in, share, and call HOME.
The one on the left, in Dean DeGroff’s collection, is date stamped July 1951, the earliest date we have seen for this model. It lacks the Coleman decal under the filler cap which Coleman started using a couple of months later, as on the right which is date stamped October, 1951. Coleman made the “D” version of Model 228 from the mid 1940’s until 1951. This one, in Patrick Fay’s collection, is dated April, 1948, and has the original globe on which Coleman appears in large faint green letters.
This was the last version to have a nickel plated brass fount and the pump is held in by two small screws, not a spring clip. Coleman’s first production of Models 220B and 228B was May, 1930. Until early 1934 all of the founts of these two models were stamped 220B on the bottom.
This early 220D has all the same features as the 228D above but is date stamped B 47. The two piece stamped burner (lower image) was used on a number of lamps and lantern models for a short time after WWII before Coleman returned to cast burners. This MF143 lantern is stamped Sunshine Safety Lamp Co. on the baffle plate and is a built-in pump version of Model MF125 above. By 1931 Coleman had renamed its Sunshine Safety subsidiary to Sunshine Products, however, the baffle plates are always found stamped Sunshine Safety Lamp Co. so Coleman may have been using up old parts. The brackets in the middle portion of the ventilator center the mica globe (image above).
The direction disk on this Coleman 237 is stamped Made in United States of America but hidden by the collar the word CANADA is stamped (upper right image, above the red letter A). As on other nickel plated brass founts made by the Coleman – Toronto factory, the month and year numbers are in small numerals in the lower corners of the side fount stamp (lower image). So far we have only seen the CANADA stamping under the collar on Coleman – Wichita made 237s from the first half of 1954. Coleman only manufactured Model 228C after WWII, from late 1945 until early 1947, with some production overlap with Model 228D (below). Model 228C has the same features as Model 220C above including a green painted brass fount, screw-on pump cap, and yellow lighting instruction decal.
It doesn’t have the engraved OCD number on the fount but has the same parts noted above from the Coleman – Toronto factory as on the OCD model. This lantern has it’s original box with the same label as on the OCD lantern boxes (right image). Collectors coleman canopy have found a number of these non-engraved lanterns in California as well as three, including the one pictured here, that Ron Becker found in Wichita. These lanterns apparently were made in excess of the ones purchased and engraved for the OCD.
Coleman made this mil-spec lantern that is date stamped 1952 on the bottom. At some point after that the Civil Defense waterslide decal was added to this unfired lantern. This lantern coleman sleeping bag and another one with the 1952 date and a CD decal came from a seller in Michigan. There was no other Civil Defense material with the lanterns or the mil-spec boxes they came in.