The Prentiss Wabers company had a rough start, partly due to the competition that was already on the market for camp stoves, most notably the American Gas Machine Company’s KampKook, which an article about one in my collection can be found here. The Prentiss Wabers company was started in Wisconsin by G.N. Prentiss and H. H. Wabers of Racine. The corporation was organized in February 8, 1916 under the name of Prentiss Wabers Manufacturing company, for some reason, Prentiss and Wabers were relieved of their management responsibilities and the company was taken over by the board officers. In two years time the company underwent a lot of change and expanded. The company started producing and selling camp chairs and tables, coolers, camping utensil sets, in addition to their line of camp stoves.

The stove I own is the No. 3, the earliest Prentiss Wabers stoves were not numbered on any type of label so if you are fortunate (or unfortunate) enough to have one of these collectibles you will need to scour for advertisements and catalogues to find which one yours is. I have yet (April 2022) to find an advertisement for my No. 3. The closest I have found is the number 10 which is a smaller version of my No. 3 and does not have a pressure gauge attached to the tank. One of Prentiss Wabers’ distinct differences from the American Gas Manufacturing Company’s KampKook was the tank and burners being connected as one unit. I can say from my experience that this makes the tank very safe to use and even easy to pressurize but all together it is heavy to manipulate and when the fuel nozzle needs cleaning from carbon build-up the entire assembly needs separated, which is tedious on a picnic or campout.

There was another company competing in the camping market alongside Prentiss Wabers and the American Gas Machine Company, and even had a head start, that company was called Coleman. Coleman got it’s start manufacturing and selling pressurized lanterns in 1900. By the time Prentiss Wabers got a firm start, Coleman was a household or outdoor name. All three companies were born during a time of American nostalgia, period of outdoor recreation growth, and motor camping and automobile travel. America was on the move, in no small part to the positive national economy, growing National Parks system, literature, clubs, and vibrant outdoor youth programs. Coleman gave the other two a competitive run for their money.

When we compare the costs of the three company’s products with each other, one can easily see that Prentiss Wabers was more of an “off brand” in the outdoor recreation world. It was a good move when the company expanded and focused on the home market instead of the outdoor market. The sales from household stoves alone outshined the sales from the camping equipment line. You can see from the gallery below and compare the pricing of the stove lines and see that Prentiss Wabers was selling theirs for less to stay relevant and be competitive. What amazed me was to find that the Prentiss Wabers company was able to survive the Great Depression and even received U.S. Government contracts to build products for the war effort during WWII.

Following WWII the Prentiss Wabers company developed a new line called the Preway and expanded their company to include fireplaces. The company closed it’s doors, far away from Wisconsin but in Connecticut in 1987 after 71 years of manufacture. A complete history of the Prentiss Wabers company can be found here.