R. E. Dietz Co., Ltd. (formerly R. E. Dietz Company) is a lighting products
manufacturer
Manufacturing is the creation or Production (economics), production of goods with the help of equipment, Work (human activity), labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of the
secondary se ...
best known for its hot blast and cold blast
kerosene lanterns. The company was founded in 1840 when its founder, 22-year-old
Robert Edwin Dietz, purchased a
lamp and
oil
An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) and lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturate ...
business in
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...
,
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
New York may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* ...
. Though famous for well-built indoor and outdoor
kerosene
Kerosene, or paraffin, is a combustibility, combustible hydrocarbon liquid which is derived from petroleum. It is widely used as a fuel in Aviation fuel, aviation as well as households. Its name derives from the Greek (''kērós'') meaning " ...
lanterns, it was a major player in the
automotive lighting industry from the 1920s into the 1960s.
Dietz also produced the majority of road work warning lights, the first of which were oil lanterns (with their Traffic-Gard trademark) and road torches which looked like cannonballs with large wicks.
Kerosene
Kerosene, or paraffin, is a combustibility, combustible hydrocarbon liquid which is derived from petroleum. It is widely used as a fuel in Aviation fuel, aviation as well as households. Its name derives from the Greek (''kērós'') meaning " ...
was normally used in these lamps. Later they developed some of the first
transistorized
A transistor is a semiconductor device used to amplify or switch electrical signals and power. It is one of the basic building blocks of modern electronics. It is composed of semiconductor material, usually with at least three terminals f ...
warning lights (Visi-Flash trademark) using standard 6-volt lantern
batteries, which either blinked in timed intervals or had a steady light.
Gerry Dietz reestablished the company in
Hong Kong
Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
and as of 1956, they moved their production outside of the United States, first to Hong Kong until 1988 when they moved production to China.
In popular culture
The 1992 made-for-cable television film
The Water Engine stars
William H. Macy
William Hall Macy Jr. (born March 13, 1950) is an American actor, director, screenwriter, and producer. He is a two-time Emmy Award and four-time Screen Actors Guild Awards, Screen Actors Guild Award winner, and has been nominated for an Acade ...
as an employee of the Dietz Company who invents an engine that runs on distilled water. Unscrupulous lawyers attempt to take possession of the invention based on the claim that it was built from parts and tools owned by Dietz.
See also
*
Lantern
A lantern is a source of lighting, often portable. It typically features a protective enclosure for the light sourcehistorically usually a candle, a oil lamp, wick in oil, or a thermoluminescence, thermoluminescent Gas mantle, mesh, and often a ...
References
External links and sources
Dietz Traffic-Gard history
{{Authority control
Lighting brands
Manufacturing companies established in 1840