Petromax
Baby Petromax 821, 250CP — Vintage German Kerosene Pressure Lantern, 34cm, Restoration Project
Baby Petromax 821, 250CP — Vintage German Kerosene Pressure Lantern, 34cm, Restoration Project
Regular price
R 2,250.00 ZAR
Regular price
Sale price
R 2,250.00 ZAR
Taxes included.
Quantity
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A genuine Baby Petromax No. 821 pressure lantern, made by Ehrich & Graetz in Germany — the classic kerosene/paraffin lantern that lit farms, camps, and workshops across generations before electricity reached everywhere. Rated at 250 candlepower, it's the smaller "Baby" size in the Petromax range, prized by collectors for its compact, functional design.
Details:
- Genuine Baby Petromax 821, 250CP, made in Germany
- Kerosene/paraffin fuel pressure lantern
- Condition note: not tested/not currently running, but a solid candidate that will restore very nicely
- Condition note: the glass globe is not original — fitted with a frosted South African Cadac globe as a replacement
- Condition note: the main valve knob is not original
- Sold with these noted replacement parts; a great option as a restoration project for someone chasing period-correct parts, or as a characterful display piece as-is
Dimensions:
- Height: 34cm
- Base: 15cm
Backstory
Backstory
Before the grid reached every farmhouse, workshop, and railway platform, there was the hiss and glow of a pressure lantern — and for generations across Southern Africa, that almost always meant a Petromax. Ehrich & Graetz began building these in Germany in the early 1900s, using pressurised paraffin and a mantle to throw out a startling amount of light for something you could carry in one hand. On farms without electricity, a Petromax wasn't a novelty — it was how you saw to milk the cows before dawn, how you found your way to the outhouse, how a whole family gathered around the kitchen table after dark. This "Baby" model was the smaller, more portable version in the range, doing the same job in a size that could travel. Every scratch and every replaced part on a lantern like this one is really just proof it did exactly what it was built to do — for decades, for someone, somewhere.
