Can anyone tell me the significance (if any) of the brass Gamage trade label attached to the side of my 1912 Primus 230? I know that Gamage was a prominant London retailer around that period but I can't find any information on the net to tie both Primus and Gamage together.I'm told that Gamage also supplied goods to the British Military around that period but have been unable to confirm that either. Any one with any clues?
Hi Mollymo, As you have already found out, Gamages was a large Dept.stove in London, but it also operated a big mail-order business based on Catalogues of their goods. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamages In the 1910s until the late 1930s it was not unusual for retailers to add their logo or name-plate to manufactured goods. In many cases they were better known than the makers, so their endorsement would be recognised by potential buyers. I think that these brass name-plates were often soldered or otherwise attached to the goods after they had left the factory. Gamages also sold "Hobby" engineering tools and machines: http://www.lathes.co.uk/gamages/ Here is another example of an added retailer name-plate on a WW1 Primus stove: https://classiccampstoves.com/posts/177519 Best Regards, Kerophile.
One thing that surprises me is that the name plate seems riveted through the tank wall. Another first for me is a can for extra fuel, and the unusual shape of the cans in the box. Yonadav
Hi Yonadav, Perhaps the Gamage name-plate was for general use and had the holes there for attachment. If this name-plate was soldered to the tank, it might have had dummy, short, rivets soldered in place to hide the holes... You will note that in the case of the Primus stove I photographed, the holes in the name-plate have been left open. The compact Primus Outfit shown in this post had the shaped tins manufactured for this outfit. It was specially made for the British and Empire market by Condrup. There are other examples of these Primus stove outfits on CCS: https://classiccampstoves.com/threads/953 https://classiccampstoves.com/threads/11483 Best Regards, Kerophile.
Another great looking stove there from across seas.I can't wait till I stumble on one of these beauties in an antique mall here in the USA. They sure made good use of the available space in these cases. I take it all the wrenches and such is in the flat box? She sure is a looker..Thanks for sharing...campinut...
Hi Mollymo a real stunning example you have and the quality of these earlier models is first class the steel plate box is of high quality with the spirit can and fuel can made to fit perfectly in the box Regarding the namae plate i would go with kerophiles answer the label was soldered on the tank by gamages and that the rivets were just dummys to cover the standard holes there is a possibility that they may have had an agreement with primus to factory fit the name plate on the tank prior to shipping but would they have riveted the name plate to the tank i would thought then it would have just been soldered so in my opinion i agree with keros theory
Mollymo that is a beautifull stove and tin. I'd dearly love to have such in my collection. More because of the unique setup of the tin than for any other reason. Welcome to the site of pyros and gad abouts. Join us with the understanding that all stoving and tramping is welcome and enjoyed by all here. Show lots of pictures we love 'em. Looking closely at the right hand side of the name plate on the stove i do believe i see some excess solder along the outer edge. This leads me to believe the name plate may well have been rivited to the stove first then soldered to ensue a fuel tight seal. especially since the rivits do not appear to be of the same base metal as the name plate. lance
Thankyou all for being so helpful, on this my first posting. Such a collective pool of knowledge so readily accessable due to the wonder of the internet...brilliant. Would a tagged stove such as this necessarily be any more collectable than an untagged one? I have only just caught the stove collecting bug, apart from a couple of unused stoves still in boxes I want to make all in my collection "runners". I have a lot to learn. What's the general opinion of some of you long time collectors when it comes to considering wether or not to clean up an older stove such as this....leave the patina as is to retain the aged look or clean off totally and repolish. As you can see I have had the burner in a citric acid soak already.
Mollymo some one else has also had this stove in a cleaning bath, as seen by the vast amount of pink in the patina. Were it my stove i'd polish it up but no more baths. And my polishing would be limited to cleaning it up and no more. lance
Hi Mollymo. You have a lovely, relatively rare, Compact Primus Outfit. The Gamage plate might add interest but I think it unlikely to add to money value. Whether to polish or not has to be your decision. Have a read of this post: https://classiccampstoves.com/threads/3963 Lovely outfit, Happy Fettling, Best Regards, Kerophile.
Hi Mollymo welcome to CCS as you're local (to me anyway) if you want to meet and compare notes PT me and we can arrange something. Chris
