Dating and identification of Hurricane Lanterns

Of course, a make and type number will already help; these can often be found on the tank and the top. Sometimes under the layers of paint.

Numbers and patent dates

There is a patent date on many American old lanterns; note that this is not the date of production but the date that the patent was issued. Sometimes there can be as much as 20 years in between. These patents are sometimes not for the lantern itself but parts of the lantern. There can be several patents on one lantern.

General dating 

Hurricane lamps with a tank with a bottom soldered underneath are from the 1920s; with the top soldered on, they are from before 1920. When the bottom is seamed, this is from the 30/the 40s. Spot welding became common about 1920, so anything soldered is from before 1920.
A protective cage with three wires for the glass, which you can slide off, usually means that it is a pre-war model, except Frowo, who made lanterns with a basket after the war.

Frowo dating

Pre-war lanterns have the logo of a dog with a lantern in its mouth, post-war only the brand Frowo.

Feuerhand dating and identification

A simple way to filter pre-war from post-war is that the glass lifter was on the right of the filler cap before and the left after the war. Depending on the model, there are many more ways to date a Feuerhand.

Online Research

If you know the number of the lantern, the best way to date the model is to do online research. On this website, you will find different models with dates and marks to date the lantern. The following websites are even more complete for dating your lantern. The first one is my favorite.