Classic Lanterns: A Guide and Reference (Schiffer Book for Collectors) [ILLUSTRATED] (Paperback)

by Dennis Pearson (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
The first photographic investigation of the history, companies, people, places, uses, prices, and the kerosene lanterns themselves. Some of these lanterns are so rare they have never been photographed before. Each lantern is described in detail, over 200 photos and illustrations, over 30 color photos. Detailed restoration information, American and foreign lanterns, railroad lanterns, and lots of barn lanterns. Collecting tips, quick reference prices, and the Universal Value Calculator. The author is an antiques restorer with over 25 years of lantern collecting experience.

About the Author
The author is an antiques restorer with over 25 years of lantern collecting experience.

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Schiffer Publishing; illustrated edition edition (July 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764304879
• ISBN-13: 978-0764304873
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,467,937 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Classic Lanterns, December 3, 1999

By	John Deere 216 (Pennsylvania USA) - See all my reviews

Of all my books on lantern collecting, this is the one that I would recommend most highly for the beginning or advanced collector alike. It covers a number of lanterns from different manufacturers with great pictures and thorough, accurate descriptions. It also gives the history of the different major manufacturers, restoration tips, and a priceguide. While it does not cover every lantern made, it does not pretend to. It instead educates the reader, so that he/she may age (by construction methods and lantern chacteristics), and determine value of the lantern without the need of reference. In my opinion, you can not go wrong with this book. Mine is dog earred from being read so many times. This is a "must have" for the lantern collector.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent book with beautiful photographs & USEFUL PRICES, August 31, 1998

By A Customer

Author Dennis Pearson has written a wonderful book that not only gives the history of the kerosene (and precursor fuels) lantern, but is filled with some 200 photographs and illustrations of lanterns past and present. The color photographs are simply superb. These are not snapshots of lanterns, they are studio-lit celebrations of the lantern of the quality you would expect to see in a magazine ad. Pearson's work concentrates on the barn lantern, but the major types and manufacturers of railroad lanterns, as well as other types, are also presented with the author himself pointing out that a number of books have already been written concentrating on the railroad lantern. If you're looking for the details that will help you date a lantern they are here, but you may have to do some page flipping, as a single model of lantern may have been made over such a long time that it spans the author's dividing lines: all solder construction, machine and solder construction, and all machine construction. There are chapters on how to date a lantern, the operation of lanterns, and restoring old lanterns. Finally, Pearson gives a "lantern value calculator" that enables you to calculate the rough value of any lantern, and a price guide to some 130 lanterns, including the more common railroad types and some foreign lanterns. Unlike some other books of this type, Pearson's prices seem to match pretty closely with the real world. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in kerosene lanterns.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Definitive Work!, May 31, 2001

By	Dennis Hearn (NYC, NY) - See all my reviews

A definitive work on the subject of American made lanterns. A wonderful documentation of the history, contribution and technological progress of lanterns in the United States. An engaging photographic investigation of companies, people, places, uses and prices of kerosene lanterns from 1830 to the present. Contains a wonderful restoration chapter with great hints. It is safe to say that it is a complete treatment.