Hi, here are some photos of an early Primus No.5. This one is marked "B", which dates it to 1912. This is a 2-pint, brass tank paraffin stove, fitted with a silent burner. It came with a nice cast-iron pan ring but I will need to remove the shiny black paint from it: The spirit cup on this early Primus stove was positioned on top of the tank. You will see from the very many languages included on the side of the tank that Primus had already developed very extensive export markets for their products: You will note the distinctive shape of the filler cap on this early stove: Finally, here is a photo of the BA Hjorth trademark and the dating mark on the base of this 1912 stove: Isn't it remarkable how this stove has survived for 96 years. Best Regards, Kerophile
You bring up a good point. The beautiful condition of such an old stove attests, at least in part, to the high regard in which it (and others) have been held by its various owners. I try to not be sentimental about things just because they are old, but when they are well-made, durable (not always the same thing) highly technically evolved and beautiful, then they are worthy of some reverence. How many objects available in all the millions of stores all around us will still be useful and beautiful 100 years from now, or 10 or in 1 year? To paraphrase (for the wrong group): Choose your first stove wisely, 'cause then, you'll never need another. Best... Gary
Lovely old stove George. The spiritcap was originally in the usual place on the 5 (& a few other models) - then it moved down to the tank & then back up again! Not quite sure of the reasoning by Primus on that.
Thank you Spudz and Ross for you kind comments. I have modified the text of my post, Ross, as I did know that not all these early stoves had spirit cups located on the tank top. I recall that some of the early, pre-1911, Primus 1 stoves had spirit cups located immediately below the burner, in the "modern" location. These spirit cups were shaped more like a smooth shallow cup, rather than the dougnut (donut) shape which became almost universal later. Best Regards, Kerophile.
