Aida Express 1250 Record 250 CP

Description

Small version of the classic Petromax pressurised kerosene lantern. This one is marked Aida and has a red plastic knob at the fuel pump. Petromax lanterns made in the same time and place (the Altena factory in the 1950’s and 1960’s) had a blue plastic knob at the fuel pump.

Aida was originally a brand owned by J. Hirschhorn AG, one of the other prominent Berlin lighting and heating manufacturers. Through collaboration and later a full takeover the brand came into the hands of Berlin based company Echrich & Graetz. Known from the Petromax brand.

This pressure lantern is equipped with a Rapid Starter. This is a blowtorch that works by spraying fine droplets of kerosene that can be ignited with a lighter or match. Normally you can’t ignite kerosene by itself. Therefore the lamp needed a pre heating with a liquid such as alcohol that can be set on fire directly with a lighter or match. The development of the Rapid Starter by Ehrich & Graetz in the 1930’s made it easier and faster to light a kerosene pressure lantern and avoided the usage of alcohol. Most pressure lanterns with a Rapid Starter also have a tray for alcohol near the base of the generator to also give the possibility of a quite start with alcohol. However this lantern is equipped with a Rapid Starter torch only.

The logo of Hirschhorn AG was originally a deer with a horn around its back. Hirsch is German for deer.

Lantern is marked with Made in Germany although at the time of production in the 1960’s most products were marked with made in West Germany or made in Eastern Germany. This separation of Germany into East and West was exactly the reason why The Graetz family lost their main factory in Berlin and other properties. The factory in the Elsenstrasse was exactly next to the Berlin wall in East Berlin. After WW2 the Graetz brothers opened a new factory in Altena, West Germany. Most likely they didn’t want to be remembered to this forced relocation all the time.

Size: 32 cm height, 30 cm diameter.

Weight: 1,95 Kg.

Condition: In excellent condition. This lantern came from a warehouse (civil protection in case of war and natural disaster) clearance sale and still had a unused mantle hanging inside it. Probably it was stored for decades without ever having kerosene in it. The original glass with the Aida logo is still there and was never replaced by another one. Due to the age it is probably wise to replace the rubber sealings at several places in the lantern. The red colour on the plastic knobs has unfortunately faded away due to placing in front of a window. The safety locking mechanism at the pump is a bit cumbersome.