Collecting, preserving and sharing the history of miners’ lamps
Home›Maker
Maker
10 posts.
Most of what we collect is safe on a shelf. A few bits can bite when you strip, clean or post them. Advice from makers, museums and Australian agencies.
Read more about Collector safety check: asbestos, radium, live caps and old batteries →A Protector GR6 with its Cortonwood pit check, a Dufrane officials’ lamp from Charleroi, a Lietz clinometer and a brass SEMOI electric lamp.
Read more about Market Watch, 3–4 November 2026: a Cortonwood GR6, a Belgian porion lamp, a Lietz clinometer and a SEMOI →Patented in 1939 for Manchester Collieries, with spark ignition and an internal magnetic lock that didn’t always survive.
Read more about Pristine and never lit: the Protector MC40 →This lamp, in remarkably well-preserved state, features an original blue oxide coating on the bonnet. It is a fully authentic specimen, complete with a stamped production number “No178” on the Cell, Cage,…
Read more about Protector Type HL (hand-lit) iron-bonnet lamp in exceptional condition →These lamps were employed until approximately 1960, likely not within the NCB mines when there were more than 30 individuals working below ground. The wick adjustment process involved rotating the fuel cell…
Read more about Eccles Type HL (hand-lit) Protector lamps →The Old Protector model 176 oil lamp, dating back to before 1911, appears to have undergone modifications around 1913 to comply with the Coal Mines Act 1911. Historical research indicates that while…
Read more about Old Protector Model 176 oil lamp →Extremely rare Protector GR6S prototype marked as 66 / G (from 1966, Garforth). Although the GR6 was initially introduced in 1964, it quickly encountered an issue with its outer wick tubes, made…
Read more about Extremely rare Protector GR6S prototype, 66 / G →Introducing the Pristine Protector Type A (Aluminium) Surveyors / Officials Lamp: A rare gem in mint condition. This lamp stands out for its lightweight aluminium build, weighing 785 grams as opposed to…
Read more about Protector Type A (aluminium) surveyors’ and officials’ lamp →The following writing was submitted by Bosuns Mate (a pseudonym) in NSW Australia. Bosuns Mate is an avid collector and restorer of miner’s lamps in NSW Australia. In this post, Bosuns Mate…
Read more about Total restoration of a Protector GR6S →I only started collecting lamps in October this year (2021). The first lamp I purchased, on 11 October 2021, was a Wolf flame safety lamp 7RMBS from the UK. The 7RMBS was…
Read more about Gazza’s collection: the first three months →“A safety lamp only works if it’s used.”
