Looking for a non-liquid motion lamp... Anyone got one? Revolving multicolor beacon.

[Jonas Clark-Elliott]

I'm hunting for an unusual lamp. Here's the background: An antiques dealer on Vashon Island, WA, who ran a shop called "Oberon's Wonderful Store", had one of these for years. When I was a kid, I pestered him about it until he sold it to me. Also, a house on Vashon had one inside a miniature lighthouse in their yard, and another house near Seattle hung one outside every Christmas season. A restaurant in Pike Place Market, the famous Athenian Inn, had five of these hanging outside. They gradually fell apart over the years and were finally removed, but no one seems to know what happened to them. Another local antiques shop, The Daily Planet, has one, but they don't use it and yet won't sell it - it collects dust in the window.

The item itself: Comprised of two hemispherical ends, bottom and top, made of metal, separated by a clear glass or plastic cylinder, the entire lamp is around 10" tall by 5" diameter. Within is a metal box, affixed to a motor inside one of the hemispheres. This box revolves around a central light bulb, and has four round holes, one per side, with circular glass fresnel (focusing) lenses set in them - red, blue, green, yellow. On top is a metal post with a loop or ring for hanging. I have found an old ad for the Swiss Golden Beacon which shows it with a matching hanging bracket. I believe these lamps to be from the 1960s or 70s, possibly earlier or later. See attached ad photo, a scan of an ad once sold by Cardcow, an online vintage-ad site.

Variants: The basic model was apparently called a "Swiss Golden Beacon", and was marked Swiss Harmony, Chicago (Swiss Harmony also made, or at least sold, those square, lantern-shaped brass-and-glass liquor decanters contAining a wind-up music box which plays "Little Brown Jug" or "How Dry I Am" when picked up - around here, those are a frequent sight in thrift stores) I have seen the Swiss Golden Beacon with a crackled gold finish on the hemispheres, and also marked "Swiss Golden Beacon - Manufactured by A. A. Holes Corp". Mine, which fell apart many years ago and went I-don't-know-where, was marked "Eternal Guest Light - Swiss Harmony". Daily Planet's has a triangular box with only three lenses, and a blue-green "hammertone" metallic finish. Those outside The Athenian at Pike Place Market had a cylindrical glass fresnel lens (think of a "jelly jar" porch light) that was colored in four stripes, alternating red, clear, blue-green, clear. I know they had glass inner cylinders because, for many years, one of the lights' cylinders was sitting inside, shattered. And further, the current maker of those tiny chain-hung light-up barber poles says the company they bought the product from (the former manufacturer, that is) made a limited run of three-lens type with chromed hemispheres, and had one left (but wouldn't sell it) a few years ago.

If anyone has: seen these, knows anything about these, has other brands or model names for these, knows of other variants of these, or has any of these... Please let me know!

By the way, the ad says "Golden Swiss Beacon" but marked lamps seem to say "Swiss Golden Beacon". The ad does not mention a manufacturer. I poked around on the US Patent Office search for a while, but found nothing - maybe someone who's better versed in searching the site can locate a patent or design patent?
~ Jonas

[Peter T]

Hi Jonas,
I have two Swiss Golden Beacons in textured gold. I'll have to check mine for the exact model number but I know that they are the outdoor model with the bulbous glass, thick grounded cord and thick rubber seals. The two that I have are in MINT CONDITION they are in unopened boxes. Since they are unopened I cannot tell you if they work or not. All I can tell you is that the three others that are in my collection were all bought from the same elderly gentleman and they were all spectacular.
I was lucky enough to find this guy and he used to sell these lights. I bought every one that he had left.The others in my collection were all opened by him before I could stop him but they are amazing. He took them out and they still had the original gold shepherds hook, screws and original introduction document (I scanned one of them in and posted it to my profile). All of my others work fine and it is great to have a box to store them in.

As much as I don't want to part with the two that I have, owning five is a bit excessive. Especially since the two are unopened. I might be willing to part with them for $125.00 each. I know that this might seem excessive but it seems that these lights are getting harder and harder to find. Especially in this condition. I'll try and take some photo's tonight and upload them to my profile. Oh, and the lenses are red, blue, yellow and green.

[Jonas Clark-Elliott]

Thanks, Peter, I'll pass this along, and see if I can afford one of 'em myself. You're certain the green lenses on those that were opened are bright green? Also sold as "green" was a sea-green or turquoise color (mine has this) which is also different than the blue lens. Will you save these until I can make inquiries, both into my finances and the other person's? Buying off-eBay is definitely a good thing.

[Peter T]

Yea, I'll hang on to them. Sorry I haven't gotten to post any photo's yet. The lenses are definitely bright green. I have seen the turquoise ones but these are green. When the red and green spin past it looks like Christmas colors. Maybe I can upload a video... I'll see what I can do. Don't worry, they aren't going anywhere.

[Jonas Clark-Elliott]

Do you have any idea when he sold these originally? I know the Trippe version, the Welcome Light, existed as early as the 1950s, but these could easily have existed into the 70s. And do you know what sort of business or store he ran - what else did he sell?

I imagine Swiss Harmony, maker of the Swiss Golden Beacon (I've also seen one, and only one, marked simply "Swiss Beacon" with no "Model No. ----") was a novelty company, as they also produced another item, commonly seen in many thrift stores: a square glass bottle (for liquor) mounted inb a square brass top and bottom framework with X-shaped wire guards on all sides, and a handle, making it look like a watchman's lantern. These have a Swiss-made music box in the base, with a spring-loaded damper on the air brake so they play music - usually "How Dry I Am", occasionally "Little Brown Jug". I've seen countless of these over the years, most still sporting a "Swiss Harmony - Chicago, Ill." label.

[Peter T]

Hello Jonas, Mine say on the top Swiss Golden Beacon. Model 170 made by Swiss Harmony Inc. Chicago Ill.
Check my profile. I just uploaded a dozen pics of my spare lamp that was also still in it's box. Those pics should answer all of your questions considering that they are the same thing that I have new.

P.S.My Grandpop has one of those music boxes

[Jonas Clark-Elliott]

Great photos! Can you drop me an email? [e-mail]. See if I can't set up this buyer for you - I know nothing yet, have his phone # but we haven't spoken yet. All he told me in his email was that he had one, loved it, but that it was "no longer repairable" (not sure what that entails in this case).

I've seen one of this model up close, in poor shape, and the outer lens was plastic, like the straight-sided variety. Is the outer lens on these made of glass?

[Jonas Clark-Elliott]

I'm certain that that's them. Good job, whoever your friends are, at hunting that down! The telephone number with exchange name (DEarbn 2-3510 = 332-3510 - Dearb(or)n being an interesting, uncommon shortened exchange name) helps date it, as those fell out of use in larger cities in the 1960s. I love the old phone numbers, the old exchange for my city once upon a time was ALpine.

I imagined these Beacons being a 1950s thing.