I am asking about this old car lamp/light from 1908. On the top of the
lamp which I think is chrome over brass are the words E&J Pat.
Dec.1908 Detroit Mich. The lamp is a circle on top and then a square
with 3 panels of glass-red, green, and clear. The red glass section
opens to light. My grandfather had a car repair shop in the early
1900's and there are several of these. What was it exactly used for
and how. How much do you think it would be worth? Thank you

Dear bobbie41-ga;

Thank you for allowing me an opportunity to answer your interesting
question. ?E&J? manufactured oil-powered headlamps (called ?side
lanterns? or sometimes ?carriage lamps? in those days) for Ford (and
others perhaps) before cars had independent electrical systems capable
of supporting mobile electric lights (and for some time thereafter as
an optional economical alternative). The actual name of the company
was Edmunds & Jones Corporation located in Detroit, Michigan U.S.A.

These types of lights were mounted on the sides of early automobiles
for use at night. They were lit by hand before setting off on the
journey or, as the case may be, the driver stopped as night fell and
lit the lamps as needed. These were detachable oil lamps and were
placed in reflective cases (like you described) and outfitted in some
cases with stands and/or handles. Drivers could also easily detatch
the light and use it as a light source to repair flat tires at night,
or as a lantern to aid him in his walk in the dark once he arrived at
his destination. Ford (and other carmakers) offered oil lamps as
options but they turned out to be quite a pain because they didn?t
tend to stay lit in the wind. By the time these lamps gained
popularity carmakers had already begun offering optional acetylene
powered lights or in some cases even electric lights on a few cars as
the technology came into being.

Here you will find an excellent example of a rare ?pair? of lamps in
near mint condition that recently sold for $250.00 to a private buyer:

SOUTHWEST SPIRIT ANTIQUES
http://www.antiques-internet.com/colorado/swspirit/dynapage/IP431.htm


A single light similar to yours perhaps sold recently on eBay for $46.00
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=4505369303&category=34207&sspagename=WDVW

Another example sold for $31.00
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=4506448758&category=34207&sspagename=WDVW

Collectible interest seems to be enhanced when these items come in
pairs. A pair of lights is currently on auction with the high bid at
the moment of $162.50. It will likely sell in the $200 range, perhaps
a bit more.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=4506026527&category=34207&sspagename=WDVW

Here is a classified ad where a person is offering a similar light
(single) for sale outside of eBay for $45.00
AAAPARTS
http://www.cwmax.com/mscprts1.htm

 
Believe it or not, Edmunds and Jones Corporation is still around and
now they specialize in vintage parts and replacements.

EDMUNDS AND JONES CORPORATION
http://www.e-n-j.com/

For nostalgia sake what you have there is a very cool item indeed.
Unfortunately though there just isn?t much value in them in terms of
financial reward. If your Grandfather owned it I?d have to say that
therein lies the real value.

Below you will find that I have carefully defined my search strategy
for you in the event that you need to search for more information. By
following the same type of searches that I did you may be able to
enhance the research I have provided even further. I hope you find
that my research exceeds your expectations. If you have any questions
about my research please post a clarification request prior to rating
the answer. Otherwise, I welcome your rating and your final comments
and I look forward to working with you again in the near future. Thank
you for bringing your question to us.

Best regards;
Tutuzdad ? Google Answers Researcher


INFORMATION SOURCES

Defined above


SEARCH STRATEGY


SEARCH ENGINES USED:

Google ://www.google.com




SEARCH TERMS USED:

E&J

EDUMUNDS & JONES

CARRIAGE LAMP

OIL LAMPS

FORD

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Request for Answer Clarification by bobbie41-ga on 04 Dec 2004 19:22 PST

I'm so impressed by your answers. Is oil kerosene? What is carbide?
The pictures of the ones that were sold seem to have one lens and are
of a later date. This one has 3 lens. Thank you

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Clarification of Answer by tutuzdad-ga on 04 Dec 2004 20:00 PST

Yes, the oil used was kerosene. The oil lamps used kerosene and the
acetylene lamps (sometimes called ?oxy-acetylene headlamps?) used
carbide. Metal carbides react strongly with water to form metal oxides
or hydroxides and flammable acetylene gas. This gas is lit and, viola,
you have a lantern. Miners used them for many years before and even
after battery operated lights came into being. They give off a very
brilliant light that is fairly wind resistant.

You can read a bit about oxy-acetylene headlamps used on Mercedes
models in 1908 (yours is probably a Ford light though) in this article
(about 2/3 down the page)

GERMAN CAR FANS.COM
http://www.germancarfans.com/print.cfm/ID/2021107.004

As you can see here the lights came in side lamp and tail lamp
varieties. Perhaps yours, being multi lens lamps, could be used as
either.

HADLAMP PARTS AND HARDWARE
http://www.chaffinsgarage.com/a-k/headlamppart.htm

I should mention though that Kerosene lamps were generally used as
side lamps and the more smelly acetylene kind were often used for head
lamps but this largely depended on how the vehicle owner ultimately
decided to use them.

Regards;
Tutuzdad-ga

Excellent,detailed information I learned a lot!