Midland Lighting Co. - 'Seamless' Spirit Stove - approx 1900

This small spirit stove was manufactured by the Midland Lighting Co. of Birmingham.
The company was at 7 Corporation Street, Birmingham and manufactured at the 'Sun Lamp Works' in Leopold Street.

The 'In Lux Way' motto was Midland's trademark. They made lamps, cooking stoves, heating stoves and kettles. Lamps advertised as 'Thermidor' Belge were manufactured at the The Sun Lamp Works from about 1887. The works closed in 1905 and it appears that they then became lamp dealers instead of makers.

The lid of this pocket stove shows 'Rd No 170420', which was registered in 1891.

Altogether, a beautiful little stove which still burns well. I carried out a one pint kettle test using methylated spirits and it took 6 and a half minutes to boil.

There is no simmer facility on this stove. The lid can be used to extinguish the flame.

 

Hi Trevor, THAT IS BEAUTIFUL A Real work of art. Thanks for showing it to us. Steve.

 

Hi Trevor,

Do you think this and the other spirit burner you shared recently were standalone items, or were they perhaps part of a set like the Sirram kits?

It just seems strange to me that "what you see is what you get". They are obviously not meant for chafing dishes as they both come with pot stands.

Yet on the other hand the Sirram sets are, relatively speaking, common but I don't recall anyone showing sets by these manufacturers.

Cheers, Graham.

 

Hi Graham

My initial answer is, I don't know. The Sphinx stove you mention here comes in its own box and could well have been a 'stand-alone' stove. It may also have been offered as part of a boiling set with kettle, etc.

'The Seamless Stove' in this thread is more difficult on which to speculate. A few examples can be seen on an Internet search, but all are just the same as mine with no accompanying kit items. However, as it looks like the Midland Lighting Co. also produced kettles, then the stove may have been part of a kit. Unfortunately I can not find any examples.

Back in 2005, Doc Mark was gifted a 'The Seamless Stove' from Ross, here, so maybe one or both of them may know more.

As a coincidence, the second stove Doc was gifted was a 'Two Flame Spirit Stove' which was also made be the Midland Lighting Co. and I will be posting reference photos of my own over this weekend.

 

Hi Trevor, I've seen these a couple of times on Ebay but they have always been on their own, never part of a set.

170420 was issued between 16th April and 7th May 1891.

Regards,
Terry

 

Hello Terry

I also have only seen this stove as a stand-alone.

Thanks for the update on the registration date.
I have now amended the information in my post from 1892 to 1891.

 

These little blighters come in two sizes. Big and not so big.

As a rule I have only ever seen the pot supports held in, with what look like, nails.

 

I have one of these also. Nothing else came with it.

The potsupports, as iani says, are held in with nails, but mine isn't so shiny:

 

Hi Trevor. Another very nice spirit stove, love the graphics. Did it blacken the pot as much as the other you had posted the other day? Thanks for posting. this one https://classiccampstoves.com/posts/237852

 

Hello Rick

Actually, my kettle bottom got black after being used for boil tests on three different spirit stoves in one day. I will be posting photos of the third spirit stove tomorrow.

 

Thanks Trevor. Can't wait to see the next one.

 

Hi, Trevor,

As you so rightly mentioned, I have one of these, too, and it came from Ross, as you say. (Thank you, Ross, for your kind generosity and friendship!)

You've done another bang-up job of showing us this lovely Meths stove, as you did with your other one! I look forward to seeing the last of your little Meths stove "trifecta" tomorrow! Thanks, again, for your photos and descriptions (which match up to the info that I have on these little stoves, too). And, like everyone else that has commented so far, I have always seen these as single stoves, with no other accessories included. It would be lovely if someone actually found documentation of a small kit that was an optional item, back when they were offered. Take care, and God Bless!

Every Good Wish,
Doc

 

Hello Doc

Thanks for the comments on two of my meths stoves.
The third one is here already HERE.

 

Evening Trevor

Just found the two that I have got.

The small one is just under 100mm diameter on the burner, the lid is a marginally different pressing to the one that you have got. The handle is held on by brass staples.

The larger one is just short of 110mm, the handle is held on by brass rivets, but they seem a little different to yours, and again the pressing on the lid is substantially different.

I will put some pictures of the lids on tomorrow.

 

Hi Ian

I look forward to your photos so that I can see in detail what you are talking about.
I have my camera and ruler ready so that any differences/similarities can be highlighted.
Many thanks.

 

Hi Trevor

The difference in the lids are quite evident.
The larger lid has a diameter of 90mm, and the smaller 76mm.

My thoughts on these, I would not make a claim on any date.

 

Ian

Thanks for the the photos. Fascinating.

My stove is the the same size as your smaller one - 76mm diameter lid.
As you say, your handle is secured using brass staples and mine uses rivets.
Do you think your staples are original or do you think that failed rivets have been replaced by staples?



The embossing on your stove lid is less defined than on mine - maybe through more wear and tear or maybe the die was getting a bit worn. Notice the right eye open and the left eye closed.



Earlier, you said that you thought the pot supports you had seen were held in place with brass nails. Now that you have found your two Midland Lighting Co. stoves, is that still the case? My pot supports are definitely held by brass hinges.



As for the dating of these little stoves. The trademark is certainly that of the Midland Lighting Company and their Sun Lamp Works closed in 1905. Whether this meant that the stoves with their logo also stopped being made, I don't know. Without further information, my best estimation has to be that they were made somewhere between 1891 and 1905.

Here is the simplified logo on the end of a wick winder on an 1893 'Thermidor Belge' wickie lamp made by Midland Lighting Co.

 

Hi Trevor

The staples appear original Trevor.

The pot support hinges on mine are the same as yours, but are steel nails.

The faces are definitely different to each other. I quite like your winky one.

So we can definitely say that there were at least 2 different dies used on the small size, that are known about.

These crop up quite frequently on Ebay, so might be an idea just to keep an eye out, and see if any sellers are happy for us to pinch a picture.

Ian

 

Hello Ian

I have had this stove for a number of years and had not given it much thought.
Of course, now that I have done some research and also have your examples to look at, I want to know more.

Gathering information from Ebay is a good idea.
Also, I feel sure other CCS members might have some of these stoves and could contribute to what we have already discovered and observed.

 

Well,
Last week I found this neat little stove at a flea market. I liked it instantly and picked it up for $25.00. Not knowing anything about it I went straight home to search CCS! Now I know about my little stove thanks to the awesome folks here. The stove is in decent condition but obviously has been used moderately.

Questions:
Is the fine screen in the burner able to be taken out for cleaning or, is it necessary? It doesn't appear damaged.

Is there something beneath the screen (a wick of sorts)that soaks up the alcohol?

Can I use the same alcohol in as used in fondue sets?

Marlowe