This is a vintage lighting mechanism probably dating from the 1920s. It would have been used in a household or business to provide lighting for a room. It is quite heavy so would have mostly rested on a table or ledge. It is a Petromax lantern, a brand name for a type of pressurised paraffin lamp that uses a mantle. The Petromax lantern was developed in 1910 by Max Graetz of the firm of Ehrich and Graetz of Berlin, Germany (petro= petroleum, max=Max Graetz).The Petromax lantern is still produced todayThis lantern is of antiquarian interest as an example of household lighting100 years ago.This is a lantern with a metal base, a wooden stem painted black, a metal body holding a piece of circular glass and a metal top with perforations acting as a chimney. The base has a hand pump and a removable screw cap to enable the base to be filled with paraffin. The main body has a screw holder to control the lighting and a pre-lighting mechanism and a mantle fitting inside the glass. The mantle is missing.PETROMAX No. 886 MADE IN GERMANYvintage lighting, petromax lanterns