Aladdin Lamps
Aladdin Industries, Inc. was founded as the Mantle Lamp Company of America in 1908. It was one of the first companies in the United States to make kerosene lamps that produced light by heating a mantle, a small piece of cloth that has been soaked in metal oxides. The “Aladdin Lamp,” introduced in 1909, made the company famous. In 1926, the company purchased Lippincott Glass and began to manufacture its own chimneys, lampshades and bases in classic designs. Collectible Aladdin lamps include the vase kerosene lamps from 1930 to 1935, especially the 8-1/2 inch tall Florentine lamp, produced in moonstone glass in green, white and rose. The Venetian Art Craft Lamps from this period are also prized.
Angle Lamps
Thomas Mara Fell, born in London and later of New York, invented the Angle Lamp, an innovative design in kerosene lighting that changed the burner placement to reduce undershadow. Fell's first patent was granted in 1888. The lamp design featured a two-piece chimney shade with an elbow attached to a flanged burner and a shade on top of the elbow. Angle Lamps were either hanging or wall mounted, with the exception of the Classic Table Lamp. The famous elbow and chimney combinations ranged from plain designs, such as a clear elbow with a white milk glass chimney, to ornate designs with an etched elbow and art glass chimney. Collectors prize the art glass varieties of Angle Lamps, according to the website The Lampworks.com.
Rochester Lamps
The Rochester Lamp Company was organized in 1844 by Charles Stanford Upton. Upton bought the manufacturing rights to Leonard Henkle's patent for improvements in the air circulation of center drafts lamps, a device often called a flame spreader today, and dubbed the new lamp “The Rochester.” From 1884 through 1892, the Rochester line was designed by Edward Miller &Company, including every type of lamp, from table lamps to hanging library and store. After 1892, The Bridgeport Brass Company manufactured the lamps, called the “New Rochester.”