1941

While the Washington drape plain stem lamps are the most recognized of the Aladdin Washington drape lamps, that fact is probably due simply to the fact that they were produced for a longer period of time that any of the other Washington drape lamps. While being the longest produced Washington drape lamp, the plain stem was far from being the "only" Washington drape lamp produced. The other members of the Washington drape series of Aladdin lamps have their own unique qualities that make them worth investigating.

The Washington drape bell stem lamps for example are not as easily found, which of course makes them more desirable to collectors that the more readily available plain stem lamps. They also have a rather unique eye catching design that displays quite well.

Not a lot is known about their history, other than they were produced for about a year in 1941. While the author J. W. Courter designates them as models B-47,48,and 49 in his "Collectors Manual and Price Guide" (#23), he also states in his book "Aladdin the Magic Name in Lamps" that those number designations were assigned by him, and that the factory number designations were more likely to have been B-50,51, and 52. That fact is somewhat confusing since the B-50,51,and 52 designations are the ones also assigned by him to the Washington drape Filigree stem lamps in his books.

The bell stem Washington drape lamps are somewhat mysterious since the actual factory designations for their design have never been completely confirmed. Also,to my knowledge, they were never shown in any sales brochures. Such factors do make them highly collectable.