Antique Flashlight

[woolfam]

A friend of mine was doing some remodeling in his 97 year old house. He found this in one of the walls.

He said the top of the wall was open to the attic and it appeared that someone must have dropped it down there. It had a single cell battery in it - about the size of 2 D-cells. He replaced the existing cell with two new D-cells and the lamp lit up.

It's a Franco brand and it looks like the one referenced here:
http://www.flashlightmuseum.com/Fra...-with-Slide-Switch-Halfway-up-Barrell-2D-1915

Pretty cool!

 

[M@elstrom]

Very cool find!

I don't mind the aesthetics of the vintage/antique flashlights

 

[ninjaboigt]

wow...that is Fing awsome!

i want one LOL

 

[Big_Ed]

Did your friend keep the old battery? That would be cool to see as well. I wonder if there was any voltage left in it. Anyway, very nice find!! I'd be careful not to blow the original bulb. Maybe only use partially depleted batteries in it, or probably better yet, take out the original bulb and pack it somewhere safe, and put a modern bulb in it for actual use. The original bulb could quite possibly be the oldest working flashlight bulb in existence.

 

[watt4]

very cool !

 

[ninjaboigt]

Did your friend keep the old battery? That would be cool to see as well. I wonder if there was any voltage left in it. Anyway, very nice find!! I'd be careful not to blow the original bulb. Maybe only use partially depleted batteries in it, or probably better yet, take out the original bulb and pack it somewhere safe, and put a modern bulb in it for actual use. The original bulb could quite possibly be the oldest working flashlight bulb in existence.

what he said was true...its amazing...i like the design.

 

[SFG2Lman]

looks like it already came with an aspheric lens you should throw a P7 and a coupla 18650s in there and make it a "real" light lol j/k thats an awesome find and actually a very classy looking light, someone with a mill should replifab it! (replicate+fabricate)

 

[lctorana]

It's not an aspheric. It's a fisheye - the exact opposite.

It's domed, but it's not like a modern aspheric - it's concave at the back, and sits really close to the bulb.

In practice, it works in the exact opposite way to an aspheric, scattering the beam, so the hotspot is entirely eliminated.

If the fisheye is precision-ground (some were, some weren't), you get a perfect hard-edged disk of light that is absolutely even, with zero spill.

An aspheric, on the other hand, gives you a projected filament image, plus rings and scatter.

 

[SFG2Lman]

/doesn't let facts get in the way of a joke

 

[Zen|th]

Wowee... Grandma of all flashlights! *G2, E1B and 6PDL bowing*

 

[Vamp]

That is a nice find!
I'm very curious about the light it shines, what it looks like in the inside (especially the bulb) ...and the battery I must see!

I would treat that as a relic if I were you.

With regard to the battery, check the voltage if printed, if not then check form if its a single cell or if it has joints, if it is a single cell, it will likelly be supposed to operate at 1.5v, so instead of connecting the D cells in series, connect them in parallel, or even simpler: put a dummy battery consiting of an AA to D cell adapter with a wire shorting the terminals on the inside, in the place of the AA, then use this with the other real D cell.
Either solution fills the space and provides a safe 1.5v to the precious bulb.

 

[lctorana]

The Unit Cell was 2 zinc-carbon D cells end to end in one paper wrapper.

The bulb is your common-or-garden 2.47V 0.3A G3.5 MES vacuum bulb - the Number 14. Has the blue bead. Still available in hardware stores.

 

[LightJaguar]

The Unit Cell was 2 zinc-carbon D cells end to end in one paper wrapper.

The bulb is your common-or-garden 2.47V 0.3A G3.5 MES vacuum bulb - the Number 14. Has the blue bead. Still available in hardware stores.

Man you just had to mess up our fantasy of the "precious" bulb.
Great find by the way.

 

[Vamp]

Man you just had to mess up our fantasy of the "precious" bulb.
Great find by the way.

Fantasy...
Still it looks like it dates somewhere between 1920-1940, judging by the style of the caps and the switch, and so the bulb will definitely be more archaic and prone to failure.
If I were you, I would put a new one in it's stead and keep the original in a cotton (sprayed with a tiny bit of WD40) filled box, inside the box where you keep the flashlight Because having the complete set with the original bulb still working is always more valuable! ...think of your grandchildren!

[EDIT]
I missed the part of your post with the link! So it appears it was pattented in 1915... that's even a bit older than I imagined (but it could very well still be in production by 1920 ).

 

[soulrider]

I'm not expert but I would not use it with the original bulb in it even if you think it's a garden variety bulb. With the original bulb and battery from that era it might actually be worth something. I would check it out and see if it has any real value before doing anything with it.

 

[KD7EIR]

It appears to be worth about $30.00

 

[HighLumens]

Beamshot please??

 

[D350Diesel]

Did your friend keep the old battery? That would be cool to see as well. I wonder if there was any voltage left in it.

I bet it was dropped while turned on.

 

[ANDREAS FERRARI]

The Unit Cell was 2 zinc-carbon D cells end to end in one paper wrapper.

The bulb is your common-or-garden 2.47V 0.3A G3.5 MES vacuum bulb - the Number 14. Has the blue bead. Still available in hardware stores.

Exactly how old are you Ictorana-sounds like you may have owned one of these when you were a young man.

 

[Monocrom]

That is one sweet find!

I can't stop wondering how it was lost in the first place.