BulbCollector Forums
BULB DISCUSSION BOARDS => Antique Bulb Discussion => Topic started by: SDLady on August 03, 2002, 11:14:00 am
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About 16 years ago while searching an abandoned house in Hawaii, I found a light bulb that is all black except for a small perfectly round area in the middle of the large round end. Not knowing what it was, I asked my husbands Uncle, a very elderly man who lived in Hawaii all his life, if he knew what it was. He told me it was a "Black Out bulb" used during the war blackouts. That when in use it only had the small stream of light directed straight down and that is all that was allowed to be used during the black outs after the Pearl Harbor air raid. He also stated they were pretty rare because after the war most people scrapped the black off to use the bulb as a regular one. Is there anyone can confirm this for me and where I can get more info? And is there any value at all? Oh, and it still works.
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hmm.........any pictures? would love to see what a black out bulb looks like
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Yes that is definitely a WWII blackout bulb, and these do occasionally come up on eBay but not so commonly. I am not sure how much they sell for, but I got my Wabash blackout bulb on eBay over 3 years ago for maybe $5. May I ask you, what is the shape of your blackout bulb? Is it shaped like a radio tube, or a regular light bulb? If it is shaped like a radio tube, chances that it is a Wabash bulb. If it is shaped like a regular bulb, it is either a GE or Westinghouse. Oh also, they do come in several colors, not just one. Mine is orange, but I do know they made reds and blues as well. Hope my info helps!
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Sorry, no pictures.
It is shaped like a regular bulb and it is actualy painted black.
Good to know a price, but I would never sell it. Its special to me and I love collecting the old stuff.
Thanks for the info guys.
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In the Netherlands in WWII, also "black bulbs" have been produced by Philips. I've never seen a regular sized one like you describe, but: these bulbs were also produced for bikes. And since the amount of light was not much, in every small "bike bulb" a manually scratch was made to get some light after all. However, bulbs of the same size for tube lights did not have the scratch (I bought a batch of several "new boxes" (Brand Philips) from an old shop). So, in the Netherlands I don't know if Philips made the scratch, or the people who bought the did it themselves. Frank de Vries, Utrecht, The Netherlands
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bulbcollector@fdevries.com
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.... I forgot to tell... I also have normal shaped blackout bulbs, painted black, brand Philips and with the original paper but those do not contain a scratch. They actually work, and the color is deeply saturated violet. Frank
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bulbcollector@fdevries.com
[This message has been edited by Frank de Vries (edited October 10, 2002).]