The origins of the Bat lantern brand can be traced back to 1843, when Friedrich August Stübgen established a lamp factory in Erfurt. The company initially operated under the name Lampenfabrik Stübgen & Kleemann. When partner Kleemann left the business, the company was renamed Lampenfabrik Fr. Stübgen & Co.

After Friedrich August Stübgen passed away in 1877, his eldest son Gustav Stübgen took over the factory. In 1879, Gustav’s brother Julius Stübgen joined the company. Their first patent was filed in 1882.

In 1892, the now‑famous bat logo (Fledermaus) was officially registered as a trademark. Over the following years, the company grew rapidly. By 1910, the factory employed over 400 workers and exported 70% of its lanterns.

During this period, the term “bat lamp” came into common use. The company name was updated to Laternenfabrik Fr. Stübgen & Co, and additional trademarks such as PAN, STUBS, and BAT MINOR were registered.

The First World War significantly disrupted production and export activities. In 1918, the third generation of the Stübgen family entered the business: Franz (son of Julius) and Rudolf and Walther (sons of Gustav).

Between 1918 and 1922, the company produced a wide range of lanterns, table lamps, wall lamps, and other lighting products. This diversification proved unprofitable, and Fr. Stübgen & Co eventually refocused exclusively on the BAT hurricane lantern. By 1924, the company held 23 different patents.

In the 1930s, Fr. Stübgen & Co entered joint ventures with foreign companies, temporarily shifting part of its production to Danzig (Poland) and Leningrad (USSR).

To increase production efficiency, Stübgen also manufactured lanterns for the American brand Dietz, benefiting Dietz due to the exchange rate of the U.S. dollar. Stübgen produced models such as the Dietz Little Wizard, Dietz Junior, and Dietz AJAX.

During the 1940s, HASAG (Hugo Schneider AG, Leipzig) produced lanterns but found it unprofitable and instead sourced lanterns directly from Stübgen. These were identical in construction to BAT lanterns but carried different branding.

By the late 1940s, factory machinery had become outdated, making production uneconomical. Competitive pricing in the market prevented the necessary investments. As a result, Stübgen sold all trademarks except “Bat”, along with patents, customer lists, and part of the machinery, to HASAG.

HASAG had earlier acquired Kaestner & Toebelmann, another hurricane lantern manufacturer. After the sale, Stübgen continued producing agricultural tools, but this ended shortly thereafter due to wartime requirements for military production.

After World War II, the Stübgen factory was dismantled, and in 1948, the company was removed from the commercial registry. Although HASAG did not acquire the “Bat Fledermaus” trademark, it registered the English‑language trademark BAT and had already built a factory in Meuselwitz, Thuringia in 1937. After the war, the BAT trademark was used both in the GDR and the United Kingdom.

Examples exist of HASAG lanterns with BAT markings, as well as BAT lanterns bearing the HASAG name.

Production continued in the Feuerhand factories, using Feuerhand blueprints for new models. HASAG later disappeared, and the BAT trademark eventually passed to MEWA. Beginning in 1952, BAT hurricane lanterns were produced by VEB Sturmlaternenwerk Beierfeld, a branch of MEWA.

In the 1980s, VEB Sturmlaternenwerk was absorbed by Foron, which only continued lantern production for a short period before discontinuing it altogether.

The historical research presented here was compiled by Achim Stübgen, who examined numerous sources to reconstruct a complete and accurate history. We are grateful for his permission to reproduce this information and the accompanying images.

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Copyright © Achim Stübgen, Hannover 2015