Plume & Atwood

 Plume & Atwood Lantern

- informational - Article

    The following article comes from a vintage December 1966 Spinning Wheel, A National Magazine about Antiques, newspaper clipping found among a wealth of lanterns at a recent estate sale held in North East Ohio. Unfortunately their is no byline to credit

   The Plume & Atwood Manufacturing Company of Waterbury and Thomaston Connecticut was founded in 1869. The company was composed of two branches, a brass strip mill located in Thomaston and a fabricating plant in Waterbury where they manufactured brass lamp fixtures. It was her that the "Acorn", "nutmeg", and Hornet" burners for miniature lamps were made. Some burners were marked "P & A Mfg. Co,." and a few of the Nutmeg size burners bear the patent date February 27, 1877.

    Though they advertised all kinds of lamps for sale, Plume & Atwood made only the brass handles, collars and burners; they purchased the glass bases and shades from various sources in America and abroad. The burners and collars were attached tot he glass bases with plaster of Paris not beeswax as some people have thought.
    Conversely, some glass manufacturers purchased brass lamp fixtures from Plume & Atwood for their own ware; the Consolidated Lamp & Glass Company of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania offered miniature lamps equipped with Plume & Atwood burners in the trade magazine, China Glass and Lamps in 1894.
    The fabricating division of Plume & Atwood Manufacturing Company was sold to Landers, Frary & Clark and is now operating as the Dorset Division of the J.B.Williams Company Incorporated. Miniature lamps with Plume & Atwood fixtures were being offered to the trade by their successors as late as 1920 and probably sold by the them until 1921-22. Many Plume & Atwood are still begin manufactured by the Dorset Division and have the initials "P & A" on the bottom.
www.notyourmothersestatesale.com