THIS IS THE HANG TAG:
Chinese usually reads right to left (occasionally left to right) and top to bottom.
In Circle:
-Center is company/product name for candles "Most Beautiful Time"
-right "German company"
-left "Western Travel" (maybe like a souvenir?)
Top: "Lighting the candles 4 times results in different brightness"
Bottom: "Can shine for 40 hours"
Second Translation which is very similar but more detailed. "It is a round stamp that should be rotate 90 degrees clockwise, and read vertically. It is a trademark stamp with the Chinese name for a German trading company: C. Melchers GmbH & Co. The first two characters “德商”mean “German business”, the three characters in the middle “美最時” are both the phonetic transliteration for the company name, and meaning “most beautiful time”. The last two characters “洋行” mean foreign/trading company. Still in business today, C. Melchers GmbH &Co. opened it’s first Chinese branch in Hong Kong in 1866, and a second branch in Shanghai in 1877. Subsequently the company extended its business in multiple cities in China."
HERE IS THE TEXT:
四倍燭光
明亮異常
德商
美最時
洋行
可點
四十小時
The badge translates to the name of the company which is called MEI ZUI SHI.
Literally translated = THE MOST BEAUTIFUL TIME.
FEUERHAND Nr. 999 - MELCHERS
The Melchers Nr. 999 lantern was introduced in 1925 as an export to China only. Melchers & Co., Bremen were the exporters of this lantern. The company is still in business as of today.
This lantern is a copy of the Feuerhand Nr. 257 and have the identical globe lifting system. See photo above. On the globe lifting plate is half of the remaining glass reflector. On a side note, the Feuerhand Nr. 257 is a copy of the Dietz Monarch lantern.
The badge (name holder tag) is in very delicate condition. It was most likely made from copper and only a little bit of the copper color remains on the back of the badge. This lantern, at that time, was delivered in a beautiful and highly detailed paper bag. See photos above.
The embossed globe is an interesting design. It is hard to see, but on the 'wings' behind the man's head are the letters 'M & Co.'. The male figure appears to be an elderly Chinese man (monk?).
Circa: 1925+
Mel - Owner (Monday, 24 January 2022 18:08)
Hello,
So you still see some of the Melchers in China? I'd love to chat with you. Can you use the main contact form so we can speak to one another? I have a few questions for you.
Adrian Yu (Monday, 24 January 2022 17:59)
能在这里看到美最时火手还是没想到的。照片都很棒！
在中国，古旧市场有很多美最时火手灯售卖，存量很高，好成色的也很多。价格普遍在500-600rmb，很多人都会收藏。
I have never thought to see the melchers feuerhand lantern here ：-）, pics are very clear and good! You can found quite a lot of melchers feuerhand lantern when you are in antique market of China and most of them can work good still. The price is around 100us$.
Andy (Thursday, 24 January 2019 05:00)
Oh oh ... I see rust on the blaker !
Pictures are so honest. - Smile -