The Scottish Mountain Heritage Collection
1024.2012.1(a-g)
Veritas Highlander Picnic Stove
30/10/2012
Hermione Cooper
30/10/2012
Picnic stove in original tin with instruction sheet, jet clearing needle in packet, three pot rests, and detachable burner.
metal
Tin - 21(h) x 13(diameter)cms
1
On tin "VERITAS HIGHLANDER PICNIC STOVE BUTANE GAS OPERATED MADE IN ENGLAND BY FALKS. LONDON" and Veritas logo of a flame.
On stove label reads "VERITAS HIGHLANDER BUTANE STOVE IMPORTANT DO NOT UNSCREW BURNER UNTIL STOVE IS EMPTY READ INSTRUCTIONS REG NO 889549 N2 G 76311"
red,cream
Falks
London
In a world of electric light it is hard to imagine what life must have been like, in the dark, without electricity. A company called Falk Stadelman set out to illuminate Britain back in the 1880's with various forms of oil lamp and quickly developed into the largest oil lamp company in the country. Pressure lamps followed in the early part of the 20th century and around this time they acquired the 'Veritas'(latin for truth) brand name from a German subsiduary.Business was good right up to the 1950's and whilst we don't know for sure it seems that electricity killed off the pressure lamp industry pretty quickly in the 1950's and 60's as every household in Britain that once had one or more pressure lamps, no longer needed any.
We can't find out an awful lot about Falks venture into the butane gas picnic stove market, but we have to assume that it was a last gasp effort to move with the times which, sadly, seems to have failed since the company was wound up in the 1960's.
The Highlander, Clansman and Chieftan stoves appeared in th early 1960's, quite why they chose the Scottish connection we are not sure and quite why they needed three, very similar stoves at the same time is a puzzle - maybe that's why they went bust!
Anyway Mick Tighe bought this Highlander on the internet for £10 in 2012 completing the little trilogy of Falks Veritas stoves.
Donated by Mick Tighe
30/10/2012
30/10/2012
Spectrum : UK Museum documentation standard, V.3.1 2007
30/10/2012
Veritas 'Chieftan' Butane Stove
Veritas Clansman butane picnic stove