Front Headlamp (Headlight) Part 8

次回、この記事の日本語版を投稿します。

In this Front Headlamp (Headlight) series, so far we have covered:

Part 1: Vintage Japanese bicycle headlamps
Part 2: Various mounting locations and hardware (brackets)
Part 3: Features typically found on headlamps before 1955
Part 4: Features typically found on headlamps after 1955
Part 5: Headlamps equipped with pilot lights, speedometer and odometer
Part 6: External/internal focus beam control
Part 7: Electrical cord weaving (chain stitch)

So  far we have focused on the most popular type, the dynamo (generator) powered headlamps. The dynamo itself will be covered later in this series. Based on the Japan's Bicycle Guide from 1951 ~ 1959, it lists six dynamo (generator) powered models in 1951, growing to 32 different models in 1959.  However, it is important to note that there were two other types of headlamps on the market in the 1950s, the oil lamp and battery powered headlamp.

Oil lamp
In the same catalog mentioned above, it lists two models in 1951, and from 1952 onward the same single model until 1958.  From 1959 onward oil lamps were no longer listed.

Battery powered headlamp.
The catalog only lists two ~ three different models throughout the 1950s. 


But that is solely based on export models, as there seems to have been a far wider range in the domestic market.

In the next installment in this series, we shall take a closer look at battery powered headlamps.