Willis Lamm's Traffic Signal Collection   Identifying Early Street Light Manufacturers

Oftentimes collectors and enthusiasts have difficulty identifying the manufacturers of early street lights. Many times the only clues are stamped into aluminum or ceramic elements of the luminaire, or show up in faded ink on porcelain bodies. This page is presented to aid in the identification of these fixtures. Some of the logos may be familiar, and some not so familiar. Additional logos will be presented once I get clear images of them to post.

General Electric Company Most luminaires and refractors display the classic GE logo. Some pendant NEMA fixtures are more difficult to identify. One clue is a unique thread casting with two flat facets instead of the more common hex collar for tightening the luminaire. (See GE Form 72SO for details.)

Joslyn Manufacturing Joslyn consistently places it's script J on a shield logo on its housings and glass refractors. Some early stippled glass refractors do not show a glass maker's mark, so we're still trying to figure out who made the non-Holophane refractors for Joslyn.

Line Material Company Line Material equipment typically displays the company's LM initials inside a triangle inside a circle logo somewhere on the housing and glass refractor. Fixtures manufactured after 1957 typically include a label that reads, "Line Material Manufacturing, a McGraw-Edison Company."

Westinghouse Westinghouse luminaires typically have "Westinghouse Made In USA" cast in letters or have the classic Westinghouse underlined W logo in a circle. Logos on products made nefore 1960 had broader strokes on the W without the balls on the tips.

More identification will be added. We're also working on identifying the top colors found on radial wave reflectors with their respective manufacturers.