The Coleman Collectors Forum

323 / 327
Mica globe information :

no. 323 : IL and later NL model lantern designated mica dimensions began as :
5”x 5” no. 327 for QL: the first Quick-Lite mica with wide reflector and swinging match lighting door dimensions began as :
5”x 5” September 1916 Tabs also appeared on the vent brim base edge to help secure the mica particularly when operating the match lighting door at this time, with design bleed over to Yale YLQ January 1917, and likely the torch lighting lanterns too with no. 323 mica.

September 1918 Coleman officially changed designation from QL to LQ, the following month torch lighting model GS 323 began shipping. Shortly after mica dimensions changed :
to 5”x 5 1/4”Height
For both the new no. LQ 327 and
no. 323 mica.
Yes Both!!! There was also a reflector offered for the IL in this time that clasped to the frame. Increasing mica height action eliminated the function for tabs on the vent brims after September 1918 for all Air O Lantern, transitioning was slow.

Reflector design with swinging door also started to change in this time frame 1919/20 to a narrower type that was used on Quicklite lanterns including Yale ML, and LZ through : October 1924. The replacement mica only(less reflector) was designated :
no. LQ 327 1/2

1925 models advertising and catalogs show the new Coleman “427” debut and the 327 models with an upward sliding match lighting door still designated as : no. 327. This style mica was advertised in some years to come as six , twelve and thirteen piece mica changing dimensions to :
4 7/8”x 5 3/8” (5 1/2”) in the late 1920s and through the thirties. Another mica designation :
no. 220 mica appears in Coleman Jobber advertising in this new instant lighting (1928) time frame labeled as a six piece mica for 220/228 also listed to fit 327/427 as well.
There are some mica examples found occasionally with Coleman branded with ink on the mica panels, and a small number with Genuine Coleman stamped frames. Some very brief advertising even described a brass framed mica for 427.

Thanks to : Steve Retherford - Dan MacPherson - George Remkus - for their contributions and efforts for making this information available.

Larry,

Thanks for sharing your latest research with the community. I was not aware of these variances in the mica chimneys, thanks for sharing, very much appreciated.

this info has been a long time coming , thanks a BUNCH Larry for sharing your research with us here .

just having my first cup of coffee here .

i have scratched my head for years trying to understand the notched vents and different heights of the mica's , trying my best to put or keep the correct parts on these early lanterns but not really knowing for sure..... this shared info sure makes sense to me and i may have to go back over some of my old work and see if i need to rework a few pieces ...... the one thing that is still a mystery is much of this info pertains to the date of manufacture but all of these were made before dating the founts was done , so one has to look at all the other features of a particular lantern trying to determine if its an early or late version QL or LQ .

this is absolutely the best info i have seen on this subject , cant thank you enough Larry for researching this yourself and sharing it with us all here !!! i think you deserve a PRIZE :-)


i think i recognized one of Dan's NOS 220 mica's pictured :-)

i have a nos "440" 242 sized mica that has the ink stamp .

i kid you not , when years ago i got my first 3 notched vent lantern i thought somehow it was so it could sit on top of a parchment lamp shade spider and turn a lantern into a indoor lamp , SILLY ME :-)

Very good info. Thank you very much for sharing.

That's some great research!!!! Fantastic info in this thread

Excellent effort went into that. Thank you.

Very interesting to read. Thanks for all of the work doing this!

just showing a 351 coleman mica for lamps stamped Genuine Coleman . not sure where i got this photo ?

Great information. Thank you very much!

Great read Larry. Thank you for your research on this.

i have this swirling around in my head :-)

Thank you Steve , for the very Kind statements! The reason I mentioned in the thread above the vent tabs in this time frame likely bled over from design of the same size QL 327 reflector mica: the no. 323 mica changed Height simultaneously in catalogs as the LQ 327. There would have been no reason to change the design size of the no. 323 if not to secure the mica on these too.
On a side note the NL designation was not listed in the new size mica listing (IL&GS only) as less than a handful were noted to be shipped afterwards and NL designation was abandoned.

Thank you for the kind statements. ?

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This is excellent info. Start your Forum Save Directory. Thanks Larry!

if you buy a replacement 5" diameter chimney from Fred-well, he makes them all 4-7/8" diameter so it still won't catch those tabs. Looks like I need the wide reflector on mine.

Here are examples of the ink branded and stamped frames :