The first paraffin pressure stove made by C.R. Nyberg. The Victoria was the predecessor to the Svea's. This one is probably even older than the other we have here in the gallery since it has a removeable pumptube with an old style NRV. Also the flat legs differ from that other Victoria, and it has the older style of pan ring that also act as a flamespreader. Unfortunately the burner has been swapped to a Primus, so it doesn't really fit the pan ring. On the other hand, I'm not absolutely convinced that the ring is original. It fit well to the broad, flat legs, though, so why not? Nyberg started the production of this stove in 1894, and my guess is that this one is from that year or just thereafter. The Victoria was not a success, so it can't have been made for so long before the more successful Svea entered the stage. The Victoria was made as a response to J.V. Svenson (Primus) who started to make blowlamps. From the article about J.V. Svensons Fotogenköksfabrik: "Svenson's quickly expanded their product range to include blowlamps. In return C.R. Nyberg, the inventor and manufacturer of the blowlamp decided he was now free to make paraffin stoves. This prompted Svenson to write to Nyberg complaining that the "Viktoria" stove infringed on his patent." You can see that letter in the article. It is dated 1895. The fuel cap and air release screw are the correct ones, as is the offset preheating cup. Nyberg did for some obscure reason decide to use the same kind of safety pin you see on the petrol fueled apparatus on the Victoria. The massive soldering blob you can see in front of the riser tube is a result of someone sealing off that area. The pin is still in the tank, though. The pump is interesting. I have only seen this kind of NRV on a blow lamp Ian posted here. Take a look. He describes it better than I can do. But Nyberg also had a solution of its own for the air to let past the pump cup on the back pull. It use the same kind of tension spring and pip on the tip of the pump rod. The first inch of the rod is hollow, and a hole is drilled perpendicular into the rod on the upper, 'atmospheric', side of the pump cup, meaning that there is a free passage of air through the rod. This passage is controlled by the little NRV that is mounted on the cup to seal the tip of the rod. It's perhaps to complicate stuff more than necessarily, but I like things like that which make a stove stick out a bit. And even if both NRV pips and springs has been exchanged at some moment, they actually work despite the crummy looking job and not so good leather! I get good pressure in the tank, and it is a very distinct and smooth pump process.
Magnificent antique. Yes same legs as the Nyberg Glad to see Victoria is proudly wearing her original patina.
Thanks Tony. I agree. Thanks Doug. I wouldn't dream of doing any destructive polishing on a rarity like this one. Actually, I'm not too keen on that on any stove... Soap and water, that's the thing. Well spotted to compare the legs with the earlier, petrol fueled stoves from Nyberg.
Outstanding find Christer! These early stoves have a unique spirit of their own. An ancient relic to be revered! The pan ring looks similar to the early Primus:
Cheers Ross. Yes, I have noticed the similarity of the pan ring of the first Primus (or rather pre-Primus), but it's not exactly the same. I even tried it on my oldest Primus (again; pre-Primus), but it didn't fit well. I also wondered why the first 'Primus' had those broad, flatly shaped recess for the legs, despite the fact that they used round legs from the very beginning. It doesn't make sense, but perhaps it just was a technical thing. Something with the casting process.
Hi @Christer Carlsson I have always assumed that the "broad, flatly shaped, recesses for legs" were there to allow the outer ring to expand and contract without cracking. Cast iron items are inherently brittle, particularly in tension. Designers try to accommodate both differential Expansion and contraction stresses by having loops, sometimes with thinner sections, to allow thermal strains to be tolerated. We have all seen serpentine "spokes" in a cast iron wheel for this precise reason. Best Regards, Kerophile
Yes, I know that. But still the later cast iron rings doesn't have this 'broad' (meaning wide), flat surface where they rest on the upper parts of the legs. They are still square, of course, but they are not this wide. They are just wide enough to go around the round legs.
I thought the pump tube made of a ribbon of brass was interesting. Interesting to see it so prominent. Most of the time, the lines are more subtle. The pan ring did it for me. I was drawn to the thread because of it. A pan and flame ring built into one. sam
@Christer Carlsson - what an absolutely fabulous and pioneering stove. This must surely be a unique survivor to be so complete and original. Very very interesting to see that that very simple old NRV really was used on a Nyberg stove, even if only briefly. But even more interesting to see how they deployed a second one on the same stove as part of that astounding pump rod assembly! That pump rod really is something, just brilliant Ian.
Thanks for sharing the information and pictures on this piece of history! I find the various technical solutions and mechanical evolutions fascinating! The overlap between stoves and blow lamps as mentioned is also intriguing!
