 | Herb Ebendorf
Historian, The Coleman Company, Inc. A longtime resident of Wichita, Herb Ebendorf graduated (BA) Washburn University in 1932 and came to Wichita in 1934 to take a position with Farm Credit Administration. He joined Boeing Public Relations Department as Editor of Employee Publications. When the Second World War ended he accepted the position of Publications Manager for the Coleman Co. He served in various capacities as publicity writer, editor of employee and dealer publications, advertising, sales promotion and public relations. Herb is active in American Red Cross, United Way, National Conference of Christians and Jews, Wichita Chamber of Commerce and Industrial Editors Association. His special interests are early Wichita history, its pioneers, entrepreneurs and civic leaders. You may contact Herb at the Coleman Factory Outlet and Museum, 235 N. St. Francis Wichita, KS 67202 (316) 261-334 |
Outdoors
2002-12-01 11:12:00
The lantern, mantle & gasoline
: In reading about several of Wichita’s industrial ‘pioneers’, I don’t find that much written about W. C. Coleman, and all of his work in the area of illumination and lanterns. Can you provide a little history about him, his products, and his company?
ANSWER: (fourth in series, see Oct. '02, Nov. 02 and Dec. 02 issues) Last time we talked about the Blackman lamp that had a generator/vaporizer that was heated by the flame of the lamp and which had a minute vapor-outlet.Next we come to the vapor lamp of William H. Irby1 of Memphis, Tennessee. Irby filed his application on April 28, 1900, and on September 18 of that year received U.S. Patent No. 657,936. It will be noted from the patent application that many of the details of earlier patents were incorporated in Irby's design. One significant difference was what Scientific American referred to as the lamp's "oppositely disposed tubular arms serving respectively to convey the hydrocarbon to the generator and the gaseous mixture to the burner."In his application Irby said the object of his invention was "to improve the general construction of lamps through the better assembling of the parts, a more certain control of vapor and air, and the burner and accessory elements rendered more accessible for cleaning, priming, or any desired purpose."What the Irby lamp may have lacked in originality it made up for in utility and durability. The lamp remained in production for nearly 20 years and its progeny, represented by the Coleman lamps and lanterns, are produced still at a rate of over a million units annually.In common with many of the other hydrocarbon mantle lamps around the turn of the century, Irby's lamp was intended primarily for commercial purposes. It operated on 40 pounds of pressure and was said to produce up to 750 candlepower of bright, white light. It weighed approximately 10 pounds. The fuel reservoir was bowl-shaped and made of heavy brass. The capacity of the bowl was one gallon - enough fuel for up to 24 hours of lighting service it was claimed. All joints in the frame were threaded and brazed. If the lamp fell or tipped over fuel to the burner was cut off and the lamp went out. An alcohol torch was required to initiate the vaporizing process.The Irby lamps were made under contract with Edward Miller & Co. of Meriden, Conn., a leading manufacturer of burners, lamps and trimmings.Irby and his partner, Forrest Gilliland, were engaged in the crockery business in Memphis. Irby's lamp, tradenamed "Efficient," was a sideline. Instead of selling lamps, Irby-Gilliland engaged a salesman who followed a practice which seems to have been prevalent in the early days of the lighting business. The objective was to acquire agents who would agree to buy an exclusive territory. Acquisition of a territory carried with it the right to buy lamps from Irby-Gilliland.One who encountered the Irby-Gilliland territory salesman was William Coffin Coleman, a young man with poor eyesight and a burning desire to exchange a career as a school teacher with that of an attorney at law.Next time we will take a look at when and how W. C. Coleman first got involved in the lamp and lantern business.
