For sale is an Early 1900s FRENCH FLASHER FLASHLIGHT from the French Battery & Carbon Company, Madison, Wisconsin. The end cap of this flashlight includes an April 23, 1914 patent date and the iconic “French Flasher” logo. This rare flashlight is in excellent condition for its age. The flashlight has a thick dome glass lens which appears to have a manufacturing defect on the inside of a portion of the edge of the glass lens. The flashlight’s slide switch moves without difficulty. This distinctive flashlight measures about 7 inches tall and has a 2 1/2 inch diameter glass lens. This battery powered flashlight is untested. A top notch museum worthy flashlight.
Founded in 1906, James Ramsay, P.W. Strong, and Alfred Landau founded the French Battery Company to produce batteries for ignition systems and portable radios. Later, the company expanded to selling flashlights called the “French Flasher”. In 1927, Charles Lindbergh used Ray-O-Lite flashlights during his famous transatlantic flight. In 1930, the company was renamed to Ray-O-Vac to reflect the company’s use of new vacuum tube technologies. During WWII, the company supplied nearly 500 million batteries to the U.S. military.
In the United States, due to advancements in batteries and the introduction of the tungsten filament bulb, starting in 1910, the flashlight became a popular household tool. They were called “flash lights” because they did not have long-lasting batteries and were used for brief flashes to provide a temporary light source rather than continuous light. The first flashlights devices often required the user to hold down a button to keep the light on because of the quick battery drain.
In 1916, the American Ever Ready Company held a contest to find a new name for their electric “flashlights,” as the devices provided a steady beam rather than a quick flash, and aimed for a more sophisticated term. The company chose “Daylo” as the winning name was Daylo, which was coined to represent “day,” for perfect light, and “lo,” meaning behold. However, the new name failed to replace “flashlight” in the public lexicon and in 1922, the company discontinued its Daylo name.
