THE SURPRISING TORONTO LIGHT KING CENTRE-DRAFT LAMP
by Peter Brickell
I became interested in centre draft kerosene lamps as soon as I was aware they
existed several years ago. I have since collected a very modest array of suchlamps. I met an interesting gentleman on the web who sourced, manufactured,and sold centre draft lamp and heater wicks for pretty much every such device
known (Miles Stairs/www.milesstair.com or www.wickshoppe.com). Over time we
exchanged links to lamps that we thought the other person should have when wesaw them up for sale. One day in the summer of 2014 Miles sent me a link to a“must have” lamp for a Canadian resident in Toronto. This was something
neither I nor he had never heard of called a “Toronto Light King” lamp. We knew
this was its name since it was embossed on the top of the font!
In the end the lamp was purchased from Ebay minus a flame spreader, chimney,as was learned later, likely a draft moderating mesh cone for the inner wick tube.
After a thorough cleaning by Miles, the lamp arrived back home in Toronto some
130 years after it was made here. It now resides only about 10 blocks from
where it first saw the light of day!
I feel that it is an important Canadian lamp because at present (August 2018),
only four confirmed examples are known to exist in captivity. Two are located in
Canada: the one in the my own collection and one in an Ontario heritage
museum4. Two others are in the hands of an American collector specialising incentre draft lamps. All four are somewhat different and appear to show a rangeof production models from the Toronto company.
What Is The Toronto Light King Lamp?
The Toronto Light King company appears to have marketed lamps under twobrand names – The Toronto Light King Lamp and The Wizard Lamp. At thistime it is not clear exactly which features were associated with each lamp andwhether there was any consistent difference between them. They may have
simply been marketing versions of the same basic lamp.
The Toronto Light King Lamp (Fig.1, cover?) is a No.2 size centre draft lamp
which uses a ca. 1.55” diameter tubular wick and was made in both table lamp
and hanging lamp styles (Figs. 1,2,3). It used a trumpet-shaped disk flame
spreader1,2 (Figs. 3,4) which could be lowered to seal off the end of the wicktubes and extinguish the flame by depressing a lever on the side of the burner(Fig.5).

The lamp is a safety lamp design with an air gap between the wick tubes and thefont itself (Fig.6) to reduce fuel temperature in the font. At that time kerosene
quality was unregulated and much of it contained highly flammable and cheaper
gasoline as an adulterant. It is now assumed that the lamps were originally fittedwith an inverted cone, brass mesh, draft moderating device which fitted inside
the inner wick tube to reduce flicker1 (Fig.22). Like the flame spreaders, theseloose parts have never been found on extant lamps. The overall height of theauthor’s specimen is 13”(33 cm) to the top of the gallery cone and has a fontdiameter of 5-3/4”(14.6 cm). The lamps were intended to use a standard 3” fitterflat wick chimney as a selling feature which was touted in a contemporary
broadside (Fig. 2).
The Toronto Light King also incorporated a fuel level indicator consisting of asmall pin which is raised by a float when the font is nearly full - to aid in spill-freefilling one presumes.
Variation Amongst Toronto Light King Models
The cover? shows the lamp from the author’s collection. It is a plain table lampwith a clear raised stamping “Toronto Light King Lamp Co.” on the upper surfaceof the font. The original nickel plating was mostly lost exposing considerable
amounts of underlying brass. Most known lamps have been found in similar
condition suggesting that the original plating was not particularly well applied.
After considerable deliberation on my part this lamp was replated by Mayfair
Plating of Toronto with bright nickel (a modern nickel plating process) which
turned out to closely match the original plating when it was placed side by sidewith an unrestored lamp (Fig.7). As can be seen in the photo the lamp has been
restored to full working condition with a new flame spreader manufactured in theauthor’s shop and will soon have a draft moderating cone made by Dickson
Stauffer.
The second and third lamps I became aware of are shown on page 438 of Bill
Courter’s book “Center Draft Kerosene Lamps” 3 and at least one of these is in
the collection of Dick Stauffer. The first is a table lamp with the same raised
lettering as the author’s example (Fig.3). The second is a table lamp with nostamping on the font and with a slightly different font shape which is identical tothe hanging lamp in the contemporary broadsheet (Figs.2 and 8). The morerounded font style of these lamps may represent the Wizard variant of theToronto Light King Lamp, but at present there is no hard evidence to confirm thishypothesis. The broadsheet uses only the name Wizard Lamp but in fact shows
both the boxy and rounded font styles on close examination.
The fourth and final lamp was found via an internet entry for a museum collection
by Dick Stauffer who passed it on to me. A quick call to the Wellington County
Museum4 and a few emailed photos confirmed that they in fact had a genuine

Toronto Light King lamp in their storage area. This specimen is table lamp
identical the author’s except for the presence of a decorative metal bandcovering the chine in the middle of the font (Fig.9) and a slightly different gallery
design (Fig. 19). In addition, this lamp has less distinct raised lettering on its fontsuggesting a double strike of the die that made it (Fig.10).
Known History of the Toronto Light King Company
What do we know about the existence, manufacturing activity, and sales effort of
the Toronto Light King Lamp Co. (TLKC)? Luckily there is a paper trail ofadvertisements and notices in the Canadian press which gives us some clues as
to the active dates of the company.
The first reference found so far for the TLKC is Sept. 5, 1885 advertising forsalesmen to take the lamp on commission (Fig.11). This advertisement lists 139
Yonge Street as the company address. This building was known as The Arcade
and was opened in 1884 claiming to be Canada’s first retail mall 5. The next
information known cast dark clouds on the business and lists the commercial
auction of 35 dozen Toronto Light King lamps , presumably the stock of the
TLKC (Fig.12). The fate of the original Toronto Light King Company wasconfirmed by a notice in the Manitoba Daily Free Press on Dec.2, 1885
announcing the closure of the business and disappearance of it’s proprietor, acertain A. Worms (Fig.13). One can only presume that news travelled slowly
west from Toronto in those days since this date is some weeks after the auction
had been announced. We find a light on the horizon (pun intended!) with theDec. 17, 1885 announcement of the company being under new ownership andselling the same product line (Fig.14).
The TLKC appeared to enter a period of some stability through to the third
quarter of 1887 where the paper trail ends. In January of 1886 we see an ad 6
boasting –10,000 sold last year- , a somewhat suspect number since thecompany presumably only began business in December of the year before
perhaps with a stock of some 400 lamps! The paucity of extant examples ofthese lamps rather suggests that they were not manufactured in very large
quantities. In January of 1887 ads are found with a description of a “Wizard
Lamp" with heater attachment7 . By April of 1887 we see more elaborate ads(Fig.15) listing not only the lamps, but cooking attachments and other brass
goods.
The broadsheet advertisement previously reproduced by Dave Broughton in thefall 2017 Font and Flame, and is again reproduced here (Fig.2). This shows two
engravings of the two slightly different lamp font designs known to exist and bothstand and hanging lamps are shown. On close examination the hanging lamp is
obviously the Toronto Light King design but now only the “Wizard Lamp” name isused in conjunction with both. It also states that several other finishes apart fromnickel are now available at premium prices. The last known advertisement
discovered from the company is a repeat of an earlier ad and was published on
July 15, 18878. Curiously, there is a trade journal entry on September 2, 1887
mentioning a move to substantially enlarged premises due to a large increase inwork being done by the company (Fig.16). Interestingly in addition to the TLK
and Wizard Lamps being produced, it also lists among its products a “Matthew’s
Student Lamp” about which the author has no knowledge. This is the last wehear of the Toronto Light King Co., at least as far as present research has
determined. This 1887 trade publication indicated that later that year thecompany’s wares would be exhibited at the Dominion and Industrial Exhibition(later to become the Canadian National Exhibition). Additionally, a contemporary
Toronto Trade Directory entry for the company proclaimed: "Our Goods wereawarded FIRST PRIZE at Toronto Exhibition, 1886." However no record of theToronto Light King Company having exhibited lamps during these years exists in
the CNE archives 9. One has to wonder if this is yet another example of 19 th
century creative advertising copy!
The Company’s Location
One of the unresolved questions to date is exactly where in the city of Toronto
were the Light King lamps manufactured or assembled. The first address given
is The Arcade building at 139 Yonge Street. From a review of the plans of thebuilding when it opened the year before (1884, TLKC was not listed as an
original tenant) it does not appear that there could have been a substantial
factory or industrial installation in the building as it was mostly small retailspaces5. Unless the operation started on a very small scale in a basement
storage room or in the back of a storefront, it seems that the lamps from thisperiod (approximately 420 per the auction announcement in November of 1885),
must have been produced at some other location.
As soon as we hear of the company being under new management in December,
we see references to a new address – 53 Richmond Street East. This addresscontinues to be used until the final notice of relocation in 1887. It is easy toassume that the rejuvenated company expanded to a proper production facility
after the take over and gave up the 139 Yonge street retail space, perhaps since
it was an expensive location. However, one document has been found thatcasts doubt on the relocation idea and that is the broadsheet advertisement
previously discussed (Fig.2). So far it is the only document found which lists
both addresses with the Richmond location listed only as “factory”. This very
comprehensive advertisement is doubly troubling to our TLKC investigation as it
is completely undated. However, the very comprehensive list of product options
and the cuts shown in it of two different lamp designs lead to the supposition it
may have been produced quite late in the lifetime of the TLKC, after it had
become thoroughly established and was using the “Wizard” brand name. Unlessfurther documents are found to shed more light on the locations used by thiscompany and for what purpose, it will remain uncertain as to where they carriedout their retail, trade and manufacturing business. It also seems likely that nomatter where the Toronto Light King lamp was produced in the city of Toronto,that a considerable amount of sales must have been for export south of theborder, given that three of the four extant lamps have been found in the UnitedStates.
To date only three names have been identified with the Toronto Light King
Company. The first is the aforementioned insolvent “A. Worms” who is listed as“proprietor” of the TLKC in the 1885 bankruptcy notice (Fig.13) and not heard
from again. With the announcement of the concern continuing under new
management later that year, we see “Chas. E. Thorne” listed as “manager”(Fig.14). Finally, in the late 1887 relocation notice we see the name of Charles
M. Green associated with the company apparently in the role of owner (Fig.16).
Where Did the Toronto Light King Lamp Originate?
With the forgoing information and extant lamps in hand, the question remains as
to whether the Toronto Light King Lamp and its derivatives were designed andmanufactured solely in Canada or were the product of a large American lamp
house and re-branded. This was a time when centre draft lamps using disk-type
flame spreaders were becoming outdated by the recent introduction of theRochester Lamp in 1884-5, which used a thimble-type flame spreader describedin the Henkle patents (Courter, p.336). The Liverpool disk flame spreader, as it
was known, had originated in the pre-kerosene era and so rapidly became
obsolete during these years after the Rochester came on the scene.
To try and resolve this question of the Toronto Light King origins, it is necessary
to review the documented lamps of the era which appear to share common
components with the Toronto Light King. At the present time the mostcomprehensive single modern source of information on kerosene centre draft
lamps that the author has discovered is Bill Courter’s “Center Draft Kerosene
Lamps 1884-1940” 3. Page references cited here are from the author’s 2008 print
edition. The images are reproduced with Dr. Courter’s kind permission.
Courter has a short description of the Toronto Light King lamp on page 438 withphotos of two different specimens, but states that he has no knowledge of thecompany at the time the book was published. He only speculates that the lamp
might have been made by Bristol Brass and Clock Co. (p.104).
One of the more striking features of the TLK is its rather boxy font with theenlarged centre band. This font can be found in Courter’s book on a lamp madeby The St. Louis Electric Lamp Co. (pp.356-357) in the form of the Marsh Electric
Lamp (Fig. 17).

As Courter shows and discusses (p.104), the rather unique gallery of the TLK
lamp appears on the Bristol Electric Lamp nos. 100 and 120 (Fig.18). However it
is important to remember that two slightly different galleries have been found on
extant TLK lamps (Fig.19).
Another “piece” of the TLK found amongst the American lamps is in the Meriden
Bronze “Liberty Lamp” (p.225, Fig. 20). The stem of the TLK table lamps appear
to be very similar to that of the Liberty, although without the two lamps side byside, it is impossible to know if they were made from the same mold or form.
Perhaps the most important lamp for comparison with the Toronto Light King isthe Holmes, Booth, and Hayden “Star Lamp” (p.171, Fig. 21). This was brought
to the author’s attention by Dick Stauffer who, apart from being extremely
knowledgeable concerning centre draft lamps, has in his collection examples ofboth the Toronto Light King and the HB&H Star. Although the shape of the Star
Lamp font is very different from the Toronto Light King, he has confirmed that theburner and draft tube arrangement including the flame spreader lowering
mechanism of the two lamps are identical and can be interchanged freely.
Furthermore I note that the gallery of the stand lamp is identical to the second
pattern of TLK gallery seen in extant lamps (compare that in Fig. 21 to the gallery
on the left in Fig.19). The two lamp burners in Dick Stauffer’s collection (Starand TLK) are so definitively identical, that he and I have felt confident using an
extant Star Lamp flame spreader’s dimensions to specify the fabrication of new
TLK flame spreaders. Unfortunately none of the extant TLK lamps have beenfound with flame spreaders.
From the Star Lamp association came an interesting technical side note. All of
us who have tried to light either a TLK or Star Lamp found the flames to be full of
spikes and also flickering. Heinz Baumann of the Rushlight Club, who isconsidered an expert in the field of burners using disk-type flame spreaders,
advised me that this was likely a result of too much air flow through the centre
draft tube and he had suggested inserting some sort of obstruction or screen
inside the draft tube to reduce the air flow. This worked to some extent, but was
not entirely satisfactory and begged the question “Did TLK lamps flicker and did
people just accept this in exchange for the greater light output compared with flat
wick lamps?” However it seemed unlikely that consumers would have tolerated
this state of affairs. It has recently come to light that one of the Star Lamps had
an inverted cone of brass mesh inside the top of the draft tube just below the topof the wick tubes (Fig.22). Upon trying this mesh cone in Dick Stauffer’s various
TLK and Star lamps, he found that the flame spikes and instability disappeared.
So it seems probable that the Toronto Light King lamps originally came with adraft-moderating mesh cone as well. However as these are loose parts, like theflame spreaders which are very commonly lost, it does not seem improbable thatnone would have remained with the lamps over the intervening 130 years. As aresult of this discovery, replacement mesh cones have been designed and madefor several of the extant Toronto Light King lamps.

Returning to the question of the production of the Toronto Light King Lamp, we
have evidence that a number of contemporary lamps made by different andcompeting manufacturers shared specific components. However, we have yet to
uncover evidence of a whole lamp made by another manufacturer which is thesame as the Toronto Light King.
An initial review of available US and Canadian lighting patents has not provided
definitive evidence of the origin of the TLK burner or font design. Only US Patent322,599 (July 21, 1885) lays claim to any part of the TLK lamp as we have foundthem. This patent by Hiram Hayden of Hayden, Booth and Holmes (maker of theStar Lamp) describes the design and manufacturing of the trumpet-shaped flame
spreader found on the Star lamp (and presumed to have been used on the TLK).
Secondly, it describes a mechanism for lowering the flame spreader using a
movable centre post in order to extinguish the flame and so reduce the amount ofobjectionable odours generated when it was extinguished.
The mechanism described by this patent is not actually found on any Star or TLK
lamps and it appears to have been designed for a side draft burner rather thanthe centre draft ones used on these lamps. However, it seems reasonable toassume that the simpler push down plunger found on actual lamp specimens
was a production modification of this patent in order to reduce manufacturingcosts or perhaps to improve reliability.
So we have patent evidence of HB&H having designed the flame spreader and alowering mechanism used on the TLK and other US lamps, but we as yet havenot uncovered a patent describing the overall TLK lamp design such as has beenfound for the Star lamp body design (US patents D16,078 and 320,476 of May 5
and June 23, 1885 respectively).
To summarize, we can say it is highly probable that Holmes, Booth, and Hayden
developed the burner and accessory parts found on the TLK and some other US
lamps, but there is no evidence that the whole lamp itself was ever designed or
manufactured by this company.
In light of the information presented above I propose two possible scenarios forthe origin and manufacture the TLK. I hope that information will surface in the
future proving one or the other or even another explanation of the lamp’s
production.
Perhaps the most probable scenario is that the Toronto Light King Company
purchased various components for their lamp from different American
manufacturers, stamped or had them stamped with their name on the top half ofthe font, and assembled a unique lamp from these varied components. Thus the
TLKC could have produced products that would now be labelled “Assembled inCanada” or “Canadian Designed”! In this case the plant at 53 Richmond may
only have been an assembly plant rather than a fabrication facility.
Another possibility is that the original TLKC designed and fabricated the lamps inToronto, although perhaps “borrowing” some ideas from extant American Lamps
such as the HBH Star. It is worth remembering that mutual US-Canada patent
protection did not come into force until some years after this. If this is how the
TLK business unfolded, the matter of many other TLK components appearing ina varied array of US lamps remains.
However, we know that molds and patterns were very high value items in thebrass manufacturing industry and one could imagine that if the TLKC closed its
door for good about 1887, then the patterns and molds as well as any remaining
parts inventory made from them would have been auctioned off. Perhaps anumber of different US lamp makers bid on the remains of the TLKC and went
home with different molds and patterns which they then used in their own lamps.
It is difficult to confirm or deny this explanation since almost all the lamps
sporting similar components to the TLK appear to have been produced, or comeinto production, during roughly the same dates as the TLKC is known to havebeen operating – 1885 to 1887. For example Courter lists the St. Louis Electric
Co. as 1885-1892 and the HBH Star Lamp as 1885 to 1886. The Meriden Liberty
Lamp is dated considerably later (1898-1900), so similarities to the TLK may becoincidental.
To sort out which of these scenarios did occur will require more accurate datingof the various models of lamps discussed here and additional patentdocumentation, should it exist. Until we find additional documentation with dates
and perhaps other enlightening specimens of Toronto Light King Company
products, the exact starting date of the TLKC and the date of their final closure,
as well as the exact origins of the Toronto Light King Lamp itself, will remain
clouded in the murkiness of time!
This article has attempted to present a description of a unique product sold by aToronto company between the years of approximately 1885 to 1887 of which
only four extant lamps are known with certainty to exist. It is the author’s hopethat in describing what is known about these lamps, other Toronto Light King
products may be uncovered and that perhaps more definitive dating information
may be found. Please feel free to share any information you have about theToronto Light King with the author (brickellnz@gmail.com).

Acknowledgements
The author is indebted to the following individuals for their assistance inassembling the information for this article: Dick Stauffer, Bill Courter, Heinz

Baumann and Miles Stair for sharing their wealth of lighting information in theirrespective areas of expertise; kd Thornton for extensive research assistance, thecuratorial and conservation staff at the Wellington County Museum and Archive(Hailey Johnston and Patty Whan) who not only let me see and photograph their
Toronto Light King, but also showed me additional related items from their stored
collection; and Dave Broughton for the reproduction of his Toronto Light King
broadside and his endless patience with me getting this article together for the
Font and Flame.

Notes
1

Dickson Stauffer III, pers. comm.

2

Miles Stair, pers. comm.

3

Courter, J.W., “Center Draft Kerosene Lamps 1884-1940 – Identification andValue Guide”, Collector Books, Paducah, KY, 2008.
4

Wellington County Museum and Archives, National Historic Site, 0563
Wellington Road 18, Fergus, ON, Canada N1M 2W3,
https://www.wellington.ca/en/museum-and-archives.aspx
5“Arcade Guide and Record - Toronto Arcade, 131 to 139 Yonge St. 18 to 26
Victoria St.,” 1884, https://archive.org/details/cihm_00820
6

Canada Presbyterian, vol. 15, no. 5, Jan. 27, 1886

7

Grip, vol. 28, no. 4, Jan. 22, 1887

8

The Educational Journal, vol. 1, no. 7, July 15, 18879kd Thornton, pers. comm.

Maybe a cover photo if needed? “Restored Toronto Light King Lamp (18851887) in flame”. Collection of P.C. Brickell.

Fig.1 – Decorated Toronto Light King table lamp. Collection of Wellington
County Museum.

Fig.2 – Undated broadsheet advertising the Toronto Light King Company’s
lamps. Image courtesy David Broughton.

Fig.3 – Toronto Light King Lamp, font or hanging style. Collection of Dickson
Stauffer III. Photo by D. Stauffer.

Fig.4 – Flame spreader from Holmes, Booth and Hayden “Star” lamp which isthought to be identical to that used in the Toronto Light King. Collection of
Dickson Stauffer III. Photo by D. Stauffer.

Fig. 5 – Extinguishing lever for lowering flame spreader. Collection of P.C.
Brickell.

Fig.6 – Detail of air gap between the burner outer wick tube and the font.
Collection of Wellington County Museum. Photo P.C. Brickell.

Fig.7 – Comparison of modern bright nickel plating (right, author’s lamp) tooriginal Toronto Light King plating after cleaning (left, Wellington County Museumlamp). Photo P.C. Brickell.

Fig. 8 – Toronto Light King (Wizard?) table lamp from Courter, p. 438. Photo
reproduced courtesy of J.W. Courter.

Fig. 9 – Detail of chine decoration from Toronto Light King lamp in the collectionof the Wellington County Museum. This is to date the only decorated Toronto
Light King lamp known and the only specimen originating in Canada. Photo P.C.
Brickell.

Fig. 10 – Detail of apparent double stamping of lettering on the lamp in thecollection of the Wellington County Museum. Photo P.C. Brickell.

Fig. 11 – Advertisement, The Globe; Sep 5, 1885

Fig. 12 – Auction listing, The Globe; Nov 30, 1885.

Fig. 13 – “In difficulties”, Manitoba Free Press, Dec. 2, 1885

Fig. 14 – TLKC under new management, The Globe, Dec. 17, 1885.

Fig. 15 – A full line of products advertised from the TLKC by April 15, 1887, The
Educational Journal, Vol.1, No.1

Fig. 16 – Announcement of the relocation of the TLKC from 53 Richmond St.
East to the area of Bay and Front Streets in September of 1887, The Canadian
Manufacturer and Industrial World, Vol. 13, No. 5

Fig. 17 – Marsh Electric Lamp from St. Louis Electric Lamp Co. showing thesame font used by the Toronto Light King. Courter, p.356 Photo reproduced
courtesy of J.W. Courter.

Fig. 18 - Bristol Electric Lamp of Bristol Brass and Clock Co. showing one of thedesigns of gallery found on the Toronto Light King lamps. Courter p.104. Photo
reproduced courtesy of J.W. Courter.

Fig. 19 - Two different gallery designs found on Toronto Light King lamps. The
one on the left is from the Wellington County Museum lamp and has the samegallery pattern as the Holmes, Booth and Hayden Star Lamp shown in Figure 21.
The one on the right is from the collection of the author and appears to be thesame as the Bristol Electric lamp seen in Figure 18. Note the difference in theventilation hole pattern as well as the slots in the crown. Photo P.C. Brickell.

Fig. 20 – Meriden Bronze Co.’s Liberty Lamp showing a stem design very close
to that used for the Toronto Light King table lamps. Courter, p.225. Photo
reproduced courtesy of J.W. Courter.

Fig.21 - Detail of Holmes, Booth and Hayden “Star Lamp”. This lamp has theidentical burner mechanism to that used on the Toronto Light King lamps andshows one of the two gallery patterns seen on these lamps. Courter, p.171.
Collection of Fil Graff. Photo reproduced courtesy of J.W. Courter.

Fig. 22 – Brass mesh screen from a HB&H Star Lamp in the collection of Dickson
Stauffer III. This is what is thought to have originally been used in the Toronto
Light King and other lamps with the same burner to reduce spiking of the flame
and flicker by controlling draft tube air flow. They were inserted large end up in
the top of the inner wick tube. Photo by D. Stauffer