1899 Banner Cold Blast

1899 was the first year of the Banner cold blast lantern. The Banner name became the second largest lantern name in Canada. This lantern was by quite a change for Ontario Lantern in that this lantern conforms a lot more with the standard design of cold blast lanterns. It ends up looking quite a lot like C.T. Ham lanterns of the era, or E.T. Wright lanterns. Ontario Lantern almost always had rather unique lantern designs, such as the model before this lantern, the Royal Cold Blast. While it was a step toward conformity, Ontario lantern still knew how to make a stylish lantern, the crinkle corner tubes are there both as an easier way to form air tubes, but also as a way to appear stylish. The stance and shape of the lantern just has an overall appealing look.

The Banner lantern was a successful line for the company. Quickly becoming their best selling product. This success is the reason the Banner name lasted for so long. Unlike other companies, Ontario Lantern came up with names for their lanterns. Take E.T. Wright & Co. for example. Their cold blast lanterns were simply named ‘Wright’s Cold Blast’. This was a rather common approach to lanterns. However, Ontario Lantern always had a name for their lanterns, “The Royal Cold Blast”, “Climax Safety Lanterns”, and “The Banner Cold Blast”, even in model variations, the large fount Banner was named the “Banner Harvester”, named that to appeal to farmers, who needed light for a long time while harvesting.

Interestingly, a lot of parts on this lantern like the fount, skirt, globe plate, lift and lift lock are all the same as the Royal Cold Blast. A common practice for manufactures to do, since it was easier and cheaper to reuse tooling than come up with new tooling. For people like me nowadays, the reused parts become essential in Identifying when and who made a lantern, especially when a lantern has no identifying marks or patent dates, such as the 1899 Banner.

The globe in this lantern is marked “Hydro”. The hydro globe was originally owned by the Hydro-Electric Power Commission of Ontario. That commission was formed in 1906, but I found that globe in the lantern, so I decided to keep it in the lantern.

2 Comments

  • Jack Deskur

    I have a banner lantern manufactured by the Ontario Lantern Co. With a shield on the back and an attachment clip. I think it is to toast bread. Or warm something.

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