History of Aladdin Lamp

02.08.10 / Uncategorized / Author: admin

Victor Samuel Johnson made the Aladdin mantle lamp a household word throughout America. Born February 6, 1882, in a sod farmhouse five miles south of Minden, Nebraska, he grew up on that farm, studying his school lessons by the flame of a common kerosene lamp. He learned his lessons well, and by 1904 was a bookkeeper and salesman for the Iowa Soap Company in Burlington, Iowa.

In 1905 Johnson first saw the superior light produced by a German kerosene mantle burner, the “Practicus” that made superior light with the use of a cone shaped “mantle” which was suspended above the lamps flame. The flame heated the mantle, causing it to glow and produce a bright white light. The German lamp also made use of a round wick and a center draft tube that allowed a very even burning flame that did not flicker. This lamp was imported into the USA by the Connecticut Trading Company.

He gave up his steady job in 1907 and formed the Western Lighting Company in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It did not take Victor long to realize the sales potential of such a lamp. In 1908 he incorporated “The Mantle Lamp Company of America” and in early 1909 the first “Aladdin” lamp was introduced to America.

As The Mantle Lamp Company of America grew from the sales of the Aladdin lamps, it also diversified into many other products. In 1919 it formed a subdivision called “Aladdin Industries Inc.” to market it’s diverse product line. In 1949 The Mantle Lamp Company of America merged with its subsidiary, “Aladdin Industries Inc.,” and became known by that name. This industry is still producing a variety of products, but is probably best known for the Aladdin thermos products it manufactures. It still produces and sells Aladdin kerosene lamps.