Lamp of the Day: Justrite “Copper Queen” carbide hand lamp, USA, 1912
Most carbide lamps carry the maker’s name. This one carries the mine’s, and that one word makes it worth about ten times as much.
The story
In 1912 the Copper Queen Consolidated Mining Company at Bisbee, Arizona, was trying to get its men off candles and onto carbide. Candles left burning set fire to the timber square-sets, and a single fire could shut a mine for months. The miners had used their own candlesticks for more than 30 years and didn’t want to change.
To sweeten the deal, the company ordered lamps from Justrite of Chicago with COPPER QUEEN cast into the left side, where the ordinary lamp reads “Little Giant”. Holabird’s catalogue notes put the order at 500 lamps. Collectors of mining, mineral and Bisbee material all chase them, and the lamp is often called the No. 1 American carbide lamp.
How it works
Water drips from the top chamber onto calcium carbide in the bottom one and makes acetylene gas, which burns at the nozzle in front of the reflector. A full charge gives about six hours of light. There’s no glass, gauze or lock: it’s an open-flame lamp for metal mines, not for gassy coal mines.
Collector’s tip
Check that COPPER QUEEN is cast into the metal, not stamped or engraved later. The burner, wind screen, gas screen and bail should all be correct for a Little Giant. At these prices, a plain Little Giant with lettering added later is the trap to watch for.
Lamp record
| Maker | Justrite Manufacturing Co., Chicago, made for the Copper Queen Consolidated Mining Co., Bisbee, Arizona |
|---|---|
| Model | “Copper Queen” carbide hand lamp (Little Giant pattern), 1912 |
| Fuel | Calcium carbide and water (acetylene), about 6 hours |
| Build | Cast-aluminium body, steel bail and hook, spiral water feed, brass water cap and valve, nickel-plated burner and wind screen, reflector with sparker, internal gas screen |
| Size | No published height or weight found |
| Auction results | 2017 auction result: US$3,630 including buyer’s premium (about A$5,150 at today’s rate), Holabird, Reno, April 2017. US$2,074 including premium (about A$2,945), Holabird, October 2021. A plain Little Giant in the 2017 sale made about US$393. |
Sources
- Holabird Western Americana auction archives (April 2017 and October 2021 sales)
