Wow look at us, six posts in. I’m a real blogger now I reckon!
Anyways, thanks for clicking. Today we’re going to look at an item that I’ve had for quite a while now. At this point, enough time has passed to where I can’t exactly recall when (or where) I found this nifty little-lantern, but it remains one of my favorite antiquing-finds to date. May I present to you: The Stellar Traffic Lantern.
To start, I found the Stellar traffic lantern with its original packaging! Usually this doesn’t happen in the thrifting/antiquing-world, but when it does you’ve stumbled upon a great (perhaps even rare) find.
While the box is slightly torn and frayed at its opening, I am rather-impressed with how well it’s held up after spending who knows how long sitting on a shelf at a thrift-store.
According to the packaging, this ‘traffic lantern’–item NO. F197-was manufactured by a U.S. registered company named Stellar. Unfortunately, the date of manufacturing is not listed anywhere on the box (or lantern itself), but some interesting details on the item are printed along the sides of the box.
“UNBREAKABLE PLASTIC LENSES”
Details listed on the Stellar Traffic Lantern packaging.
“IDEAL TRAFFIC WARNING SIGNAL”
“FITTED WITH METAL CLASP FOR FIXING ON AUTOMOBILE WINDOWS”
The light, which is still wired surprisingly well (kudos to the previous owner if that was you), runs off of two (2) D-batteries. When the one ‘ON/OFF’ switch is engaged, the lantern produces a slow, steady blink. At the lantern’s base is a handy, clip-on attachment, which allows for easy-hanging on a vehicle window or door.
Similar flashlights and lanterns made during this time were more often than not exported to the United States and Britain from elsewhere, each model being branded and sold under different names and to various corporations for consumers.
Stellar was perhaps just one of the many, it seems. Below are just some of the countless vintage-flashlights and lanterns that are still floating around online, a few of which being other Stellar-brand models.
In seeking more information on the Stellar traffic lantern, I ended up finding Steve, founder of the Giterman Flashlight Museum located in Columbus, Ohio. He was kind enough to answer some of the questions I had regarding the Stellar traffic-lantern I found thrifting, as well as share some of his own extensive knowledge on antique flashlights, lanterns, and more.
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Confirming my suspicions, Steve tells me in our conversation that the traffic-lantern I have was indeed made in Hong Kong. Stellar, the U.S. registered trademark name which appears on the box, is likely not who physically made and assembled the light oh-so-long ago (which Steve believes was sometime in the ’50s or ’60s.)
Still, the light’s construction is, even by today’s standards, pretty darn good. As Steve put it, these Hong Kong-made flashlights for companies like Stellar, Ashton, and Ash Flash, “Were engineering marvels.” And I couldn’t agree more!
Similar vintage flashlights and lanterns can still be found online for sale-you just have to know where to look. The UK-side of eBay, Steve tells me, is a good start.
Watch the full video on the Stellar Traffic Lantern on the official Diary Of An Antiquer YouTube Channel, here. And to learn more about Steve and the Giterman Flashlight Museum in Columbus, Ohio, visit here.
Thanks for reading, and happy hunting.
-G
P.S. Like with every item I find antiquing and feature on this blog, I’m always looking to learn more. So if you have a Stellar traffic lantern or one like it-and know a thing or two about it-let me know below!
