Rare Belgian Wilba L200 Storm Lantern – Willocq-Bottin, 1940s/50s – Working XXL Hurricane Lantern with Wide Wick

A large Belgian storm lantern by Willocq-Bottin, dating from the 1940s/50s. The fount is embossed Wilba No L200 Fabrication Belge. Standing 36 cm tall, this is a true XXL hurricane lantern — a collector's item that doesn't turn up often.

The original burner has been fitted with a new wick. Thanks to the wide wick the lantern gives off plenty of light and is still perfectly usable today.

The globe is unmarked, but the lovely little air bubbles in the glass show it is old glass all the same. It is presumably not the original globe, as the lugs don't sit behind the globe guard.

The lantern is in very good condition, with the traces of time you'd expect, and in working order.

Measurements:
Height: 36 cm (14.2 in)

A substantial piece of Belgian manufacture that, some three quarters of a century on, still does exactly what it was built for.