These green emergency lamps for blackouts were used during WW2. The idea was to make it harder for Axis powers to spot civilian instillations, including towns and houses. There was an amount of light that was considered ‘legal’ during blackout times and these lamps were designed to not break that amount.

This lamp has a coloured, pale green shade and a black base with the usual fitting. The bulb inside doesn’t appear to have popped and looks new and also included around it, is the original card. These cards are almost always thrown away before the first use so this is a good indicator that this lamp is ‘brand new’ or unused… but still from the WW2 era. On the black base, there’s a ‘Made in England’ marking that’s nice and clear, and the same notation is printed on the box. The shade is starting to show the typical age of plastic from this era, with a couple of VERY small cracks. Perfectly natural for plastic or polymer this old and is not a reflection of condition, but age.

The box, missing it’s original lid, still has the original corrugated card on the inside and all the printed words and design is clearly visible, though it shows some wear. The base of the box has some light staining, but clearly states it’s for a green lamp. The green lamps are rarer than the yellow/ amber ones, so this is a nice find indeed.