Market Watch, 1 November 2026: a Joris from Limburg, a Mueseler and two exploders
Lamps from the Low Countries, a Canadian carbide lamp and two shot-firing machines, one American and one German.
Hubert Joris Ingenieur, Eijsden: safety lamp with aluminium bonnet, 1930
- Where
- Marktplaats.nl, item m2454127818
- Location
- Geleen, Netherlands
- Seen
- 1 Nov 2026
Hubert Joris was a Belgian lamp maker at Loncin, near Liège; the listing calls Eijsden the firm’s Dutch Limburg branch. Joris made bonneted lamps of the Marsaut and Fumat kind.
Mueseler-pattern brass safety lamp
- Where
- Catawiki lot, shown on Marktplaats.nl as item a1533365975
- Location
- Netherlands
- Seen
- 1 Nov 2026
Mathieu Mueseler of Liège brought out his lamp in 1840. It looks like a Clanny outside, with a metal chimney inside the gauze to improve the draught. From 1864 it was the compulsory lamp in Belgian fiery mines.
Dewar Mfg “ITP” carbide mine lamp, patent 19 September 1915
- Where
- Kijiji (Canada), item 1573614914
- Location
- Trenton, Ontario
- Seen
- 1 Nov 2026
A carbide lamp drips water onto calcium carbide to make acetylene gas. Lamps like this lit metal mines, tunnels and caves from the early 1900s.
VME-Nitro Consult battery condenser blasting machine, 225 V, about 1970s
- Where
- HiBid, McLean Auctions, lot 448
- Location
- Lindsay, Ontario
- Seen
- 1 Nov 2026
The plate inside the lid reads “Manufactured by VME-Nitro Consult, Inc., 725 Oakton St, Evanston, Ill.” Older plunger boxes make their own current with a small dynamo. This one works differently: batteries charge a condenser, a test light shows when it’s ready, and the lever dumps the whole charge down the firing line in one hit. Rated for 50 caps in straight series with lead lines up to 3 ohms.
Zünderwerke Ernst Brün ZEB/C 80-U crank exploder, 1971, with leather case and crank
- Where
- Kleinanzeigen (Germany), item 3557748102
- Location
- Kirchehrenbach, Germany
- Seen
- 1 Nov 2026
A West German shot-firing machine for bridge-wire detonators fired in series, up to 300 ohms. The maker’s plate reads “Zweigniederlassung der WASAG-CHEMIE Sythen GmbH, Haltern”: ZEB was a branch of the WASAG explosives company, whose Sythen works near Haltern made its first cartridge in 1898. Sold as a collector’s piece; the crank turns freely but it hasn’t been tested under load.
Safety first. Never connect an old exploder to anything. Treat any detonator tin with contents as live.
Australian dollar amounts are approximate, at the rate on the day seen. Every price here also goes into the Old Flames price guide. Seen something we should look at? Post it in the Old Flames Facebook group.
