Perko Anchor Lantern - Need More Info...

[rfb3]

Hi! I am new to the forum and hope this is on the most appropriate area...
I recently purchased the lantern in the pic and was hoping to gather some information on it. It is a Perko Jr Anchor lantern, made between 1918 and 1960... or so I've been told. If anyone can tell me where I can find more info on these types of lanterns, please let me know. Thanks!

[Hudson Force]

I purchased a lantern that appears identical to this from the hardware store at the head of the Market Slip (Ego Alley) in Annapolis in 1971. If I'm correct the base unscrews to allow for a kerosene filling of the small tank. I used this lantern as an efficient anchor light for about fifteen years before it was damaged and discarded. I was an excellent light.

[bobconnie]

Ya got a sweet light there !! they been around forever, work great, and if used high enough, can see it for a long way !! Wish I still had my old one but it went with the boat !!

[Cheechako]

It appears to the one I used on my Rawson in '83... and I bought it new at Doc Freeman's in Seattle. Perko no longer makes it?

[Butler]

Nice lantern! Mine isn't a Perko but is put together the same way. Cptn Force is right... unscrews from the bottom. I didn't notice the pair of small rings near the bottom of the lamp to stabilize it if sending aloft.
I use mine as both a back-up for my electric masthead anchor light and as a deck lamp (securly placed on the bridge deck inside the cockpit) when I am away from the boat at night and on a foggy night even when I'm aboard.
When using it as an anchor light I send it up via the main halyard on a sennet staff... in my case a 4 ft. varnished oak stick. This can be a royal pita on a blustery night but once up with the halyard tensioned it is pretty stable.
In the cockpit at night it makes my boat easy to pick out and easier to find in a fog... it is also a cheery thing to find burning away when I have to get up to check anchor/mooring lines etc.
Then again I've met those who find the idea of a lit anchor light aloft understandibly a bit unnerving (the same sensible folks who don't approve of Molly Bs wood-fired stove) Fire on boats... hmmm

[Cheechako]

I guess they no longer make it after checking on line. Used ones around though...

[virginia boy]

You can try these two companies. I have no affiliation with them, have never bought anything from them so and cannot recommend them. But they look promising!

Nautical Antiques and Marine Collectibles

I drooled over the lanterns on this website for hours:
DDeckPFPOL.htm

[HopCar]

I think Perko continued to make them into the 1970's maybe longer. I remember selling them. I've got some old Perko catalogs in my office, I'll see what I can find out. It sounds like you know all there is to know about it already. Perko made a whole line of kerosene navigation lights and cabin lights. They also made a larger version of the your anchor light.

[rfb3]

Thanks Hop! Any info is appreciated! I found out the previous owner removed black paint from the steel portion of the light...

[HopCar]

I found the light in a 1965 Perko catalog. It looks more like a Fig. 0-6 Senior light than a Fig. 0-2 Junior Anchor light. The Junior is 8-5/8" high and the Senior is 11-3/4" high not counting the ring.
Both lights were available in Galvanized, Polished Brass, or Chrome Plated Brass. The prices for the Junior were $10.50 Galv. $13.00 Pol. Br. and $16.00 CP Br. The Senior went for $12.50 Galv. $15.00 pol. Br. and $18.50 CP. Br.
For this price you had a choice of kerosene or electric. For an extra $1.75 you could have it as a combination Kero / Electric.

I checked a 1971 Perko Catalog and the design and part numbers had changed. By 1978 they were still making kero anchor lights but they were listed under "Emergency Navigation Lights".

How tall is your light?

[rfb3]

My light is about 9" tall. It also has the letters "H-6-71" stamped on the top. Maybe the "71" represents the year?

Thanks for looking up the information for me! It is very much appreciated!

[HopCar]

I was wrong when I said that they didn't make the 0-2 Junior and 0-6 Senior in 1971. They were on the next page! At that size it must be a Junior. Your lamp has what I would call a double dome top and the illustration of the Junior has a single dome. The illustration shows the Senior as having the double dome like yours. They may have changed the design to match the Senior and just not changed the image in the catalog.

[HopCar]

Maybe yours is older and they later switched to the single dome style! I'll look for an older catalog.

[HopCar]

In 1948 the illustrations were still the same.

[travler37]

Old school,
Just a story.Was a member of the old school anckor light at one time.Was a ritual.filling/lighting/hoisting.....was good.

Sitting on the beach looking out at the lights on the boats anckored there....drinking rum and generally having a good time.Watch as a realy pretty line of light goes from 2/4's of the way up a mast to the deck and then spill into the water..........THEN REALIZE THAT IS MY BOAT AND THE PRETTY LIGH IS BURNING KERO........
I do electric now........
My Experence
Mark