Stewart Edward White, lesser known today than Kephart, said much of the same thing in his book from 1907. “The Stonebridge folding candle lantern Lanterns is the best I know of . It folds quite flat , has four mica windows , and is easily put together . The measurements , folded , are only 6 x 4 inches by 1-2 inch thick , and its weight but 13 ounces . The manufacturers make the same lantern in aluminum , but I found it too easily bent to stand the rough handling incidental to a horse trip . The steel lantern costs one dollar.” -Camp and Trail

There is no doubt with the number of surviving examples that this was as common and associated with camping like Coleman is today. The Stonebridge Automatic Folding Candle Lantern was patented and manufactured by Charles H. Stonebridge in 1906 and quickly became one of the most popular camping equipment items of the early 20th century. In World War I it served as the U. S. Army issued Medical Corp lantern and field lantern for soldiers serving over seas and was even selected for use by the Canadian armed forces and the armies of several European nations. This vast field service proved the lantern’s merits and after the war made it a long standing popular camp piece.

Stonebridge lanterns were produced in galvanized steel, solid brass and aluminum. Woodcraft author Stewart Edward White highly recommended the galvanized model while author Horace Kephart recommended the brass version, one can assume based on his personal experience of the aluminum one in his personal collection why he did not recommend the lightweight aluminum version, which can be seen on the University’s collection website. You can click HERE to see it! The Stonebridge is a brilliant, feature-packed lantern. It had a flat, internal wind shield located beneath the peaked “roof” of the lantern, designed to protect the candle flame in high wind, contained an opening for smoke to exit the lantern. The lantern windows were made of isinglass (thin sheets of mica), a material that is transparent rather than crystal clear. Isinglass is somewhat flexible and more resistant to breakage than glass sheet but pressing on it too hard leaves whitish, cloudy spots that cannot be repaired. It is also heat resistant so there is no need to fear it being brittle based on weather conditions. Surviving Stonebridge lanterns manufactured more than 100 years ago are regularly found with the windows fully intact. However, the method used by Stonebridge to install the isinglass makes it very difficult to replace a window if damaged or missing in the field The lantern also featured adjustable air vents that regulated the amount of air entering the lantern on both sides. The bottom features a self-adjusting flexible wire candle holder for two different sized candles and 6 rows of small round vent holes to admit air and allow for drainage if water were to enter the lantern. The lantern’s back has a compartment to store extra sheets of mica and there is a brass rimmed port to allow the lantern to be hung on a nail. Lastly the wire bail from which the
lantern could be carried or suspended has a peak to rest reliably and centrally on a nail or branch when it is not carried.

The most important feature was its ability to collapse into a flat, rectangular box that took up little
space. The dimensions of the Stonebridge lantern are: Folded: 4 1/8” x 7” x 1 /2”. Unfolded: 4 1/8”
wide, 4 /2” deep, 10” high to the top of the peak of the “roof” and 14” including the extended wire bail I
always enjoy pulling mine out for the night to give off the comforting glow.

You can purchase a close reproduction of the brass Stonebridge lantern by clicking my affiliate link HERE