L.327
One of the exceptional small lamps in my collection. A metal lamp by R. Ditmar, completely nickel-plated and with a small, very rare burner.
The entire lamp including the burner is nickel-plated. The nickel coating is quite run down; it is very rubbed off on the upper part and quite stained on other parts. I had to grind the upper part down to brass and then silver it to get a look similar to nickel. The great ornament of the lamp is the surrounding openwork metal border of embossed brass sheet. I also had to sand it fine and clean and then silver it. It can be removed from the vase. I cleaned the rest of the lamp with steel wool but did not sand it down to preserve some authenticity.
The burner is the 8''' (or 11''') Patent-Saugdocht-Rundbrenner (= Patent transport wick round burner) by Ditmar. The size is not perfectly identifiable, because the gallery is suitable for 10-line Kosmos chimneys, while the size of the tubular wick used (Ø 13 mm) mathematically gives 9.1'''. In the Ditmar catalogue, however, only the sizes 8, 11 and 15-lines are listed for this particular burner. This burner looks like an ordinary Kosmos burner, but uses two separate wicks: a burning wick as a tubular wick and a soft transport wick. This is the same wick combination as in the much more famous, widely used Sonnenbrenner. The original transport wick was still attached. I sewed the burning wick from another, unused flat wick. The same burner in 15-line size can be seen at lamp L.250.
There are no other references to Ditmar on the lamp. However, the washer at the bottom of the nut is very typical of Ditmar, because I have seen these washers on other Ditmar lamps as well. This allows the entire lamp to be attributed to Ditmar.
The lithophane shade (purchased on eBay UK) measures only 145 mm in diameter at the bottom. There are no matching shade holders for it. I sawed off a 155 mm shade holder in three places, reduced it accordingly and glued it together again. I covered the cuts with decorative pieces. Then I silver-plated the entire shade holder. Now the lamp looks very uniform.
The shade shows four well-known genre scenes by the Spanish Baroque painter Murillo, who achieved world fame with these painting motifs of street children (completely unusual for the art scene of the time). The shade is not marked; presumably it does not come from Germany or France. I was able to acquire it very cheaply from the UK, as the vendor had not recognised its value at all.
This little lamp is the secret star of my collection, as it burns on the dining table every evening we spend with guests and gains everyone’s admiration. It is also pictured in the cover photo of this website.
Lamp Data
Added by me:
Glass chimney, lithophane shade and shade holder.
Cleaning and repairs:
See above.
Lamp body:
Lamp body made of nickel-plated sheet brass. Stepped in the foot area, decorated on top. Base Ø 112 mm. Under the base an iron weight, marked: 50053 and 56. The washer is by Ditmar!
Around the font a circumferential, wide metal border of openwork, very ornamentally embossed brass sheet, removable. Lamp body is also the font.
Burner:
8’’’ (or 11’’’ ?) Patent-Saugdocht-Rundbrenner of R. Ditmar, Vienna, nickel-plated. Burner thread 30.5 mm. (For comparison: burner thread of 8''' Kosmos burners = Ø 27.8 mm; of 10''' Kosmos burners = Ø 32.8 mm. This means that this is practically a 9-line burner that requires 10-line Kosmos chimneys).
Wick knob marked: R. Ditmar Wien (logo of R. Ditmar).
Round wick Ø 13 mm, made of a flat wick; original transport wick.
Glass chimney:
10’’’ Kosmos chimney. Height 247 mm, Ø fitter 40 mm.
Marked: S. Reich Czechoslovakia - Cristall Patent - 10''' + lamp.
Shade and shade holder:
White bisque porcelain lithophane shade, 4 lithophane scenes after the paintings of Murillo, flat top rim.
Height 94 mm, Ø fitter 145 and bulge 147 mm.
155 mm shade holder for 10’’’ burners; sawed into three parts and glued together in a reduced size; then silver-plated by me.
Lamp dimensions:
Height up to collar 9.0 cm, total height with chimney 37.8 cm.
Total weight 1130 g.
