1899 Kemp’s Cold Blast

This model of Kemp’s Cold Blast is the first model made by Kemp, and
one that only lasted a short time. This model included a thumb lift to
easily lift the chimney instead of using the pull ring on top of the
crown. It didn’t work that well and is pretty finicky so was removed
within the year. This lantern has no way to lift the globe, it only
hinges out. Much like J.H. Stone designed lanterns of the time.

This design did not last long however, because in 1900 Kemp received
another patent for a globe lift. This new lift design used the bail
being pushed against the globe guards to lift the globe up. As a result
of this quick design change, this model is a hard to find model.

An oddity about Kemp lanterns is they never made Kemp marked globes.
It was fairly standard for lantern manufacturers to always have embossed
globes with their logo or trade name. A notable example is the “Rubber
Crystal” globes that came in every E.T. Wright Lantern.

My lantern has some severe pitting on the front of the chimney.
That’s a bit odd because the rest of the lantern is so nice. There are
also some good dents and bends in the skirt. I kinda like the dents and
scrapes, these were tools back in the day, they got used.