The small kerosene lamp on the left above was made by Socony and is known as a "MEI FOO" lamp. I recently acquired the glass plate on the right which was issued by Mobil in 1966 to commemorate the company's 100th anniversary. In addition to depicting the lamp on the front, on the back is a detailed history of the kerosene trade Socony had with China.
Although you can't read the details from this picture, the information states:
1) Socony became the 1st western oil company in China in 1891
2) The chinese characters "MEI FOO" mean "beautiful, trustworthy" and became Socony's brand name in China
3) In 1906 Socony began importing these lamps to increase kerosene sales
4) The lamps came in 2 sizes, "senior" and "junior", and it became a status symbol to own one. (mine's a junior)
5) In order to keep up with demand, Socony started their own glass chimney manufacturing plant in China.
Unless you happen to know this story, the value of this plain little lamp with chinese letters is probably not very much. However, the lamp and the plate together not only date the lamp (early 1900's), but also imply the historical importance of lamp and the kerosene trade with China. If it wasn't important, why would Mobil feature the story as part of their 100 year celebration?
When it comes time to sell my collection, these 2 items will be one lot....in hopes that the story will live on.
Richard
