::: 1960s Crestworth Product Range. :::
Scans of 60s Early Catalogue are placed below, this confirms the date of the Mistrolite, Traction Lamp and Cannon Timer and other products.
However the The Original "Astro" is not the only product that we know to have been produced by Crestworth in the 1960s at their factory in Poole.
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The images on the left of this text show two very rare images of the Crestworth Astro Lamp and the Astro Mini packaging. On the left, one can see an early Crestworth Astro with the two part early base, of interest it features the wider neck bottle which shows the level of the fluid when the lamp is not switched on. Further to this, it is packaged in a very rare box, this box is believed to be the first form of packaging that was used. It is certainly the earliest that has ever been seen. Also this lamp very likely predates the solid formula based Astros and uses early liquid based wax. The Astro Mini box is a very rare box, and unlike any that has ever been seen. Looking at the graphic on the front of the Astro Mini box, you can see the top portion of the copper base (where the bottle sits) is much smaller/ shorter than the typical later production Astro Mini, thus this box housed the original and first Astro Mini design. Early Astro Minis were open at the base and did not feature the commonly seen black bakelite base part. Early Minis had exposed wiring on the underside of the lamp. These are the only images of this kind that we have ever seen. It is also likely that these products predate the Sterte Avenue production facilities and were produced in the first home of the Astro Lamp on West Quay Road in Poole. The packaging of the Astro lamp and the Astro Mini lamp does share similarities in terms of the graphics used and the construction of the boxes. They both feature the slogan: THE EXOTIC NEW CONVERSATION PIECE. |
Other Crestworth Original products include:
Ad/ Promo Picture for Astro Mini. This also shows the shorter design of the Astro Mini. The black and white image of the Astro Mini was shown in the Mathmos Fluidium brochure which is pictured below.
Simple Elegance Astro Mini. (Seen in the 1960s B/W Advertisments above)
The Early 1960s Astro Mini had an open base design and featured shorter bases than the 1970's Crestworth Astro Mini. The early editions of the Astro Mini were open at the base and later editions featured a Crestworth Bakelite black base. The Astro Mini is the sleek copper lamp found to the right of the left picture below. One can also see the base and cap design of a late Astro Mini in the image below.
The images below show an early Astro Mini. There are several ways one can recognise an Early Astro Mini. If you turn the lamp base upside down. Never turn the lamp bottle upside down! You will see an open base which shows clearly the wiring of the lamp. The green cable is the earth cable that is attached to the screw you can see in the 4th image below. Also please not the Arcolectric bubble style switch. The Astro Mini design is slightly shorter than the later Astro Minis making the lamp look a lot more stubby.
In the brochure above you can see in the Crestworth Brochure, they produced some very interesting Glitterlite Table Lamps.
The brochure reads: The Glitterlite is now available in these attractive Table Lamp designs which of course also use a conventional bulb at the top to help light your room.
They are elegantly styled and are available in all four Glitterlite colours which will suit all personal tastes. The Glitterlite Table Lamps provided an adjustable gimbal (Shade carrier) but the actual shade is not. There were two versions of the table lamp design.
Traditional Beauty Astro Lantern. Port and Starboard Models of the Astro Lantern were sold and marketed in the UK. Examples of the Coach Lantern can be seen below.
A beautiful example of the Crestworth Astro Lantern can be seen below. In gleaming copper, this design is a show stopper. Thank you to: Jeanette and Peter Coe. The Astro Coach lantern is one of the most stunning and well crafted Crestworth pieces. It is extremely elegant and one can always use current Astro bottles which are sold by Mathmos in your Lantern. Thank you to Jeanette and Pete Coe for the images below.
Astro Lantern products are extremely beautiful, rarely found with the original bottle they do look great with just about any kind of coloured bottle. For example the model below features a darker colour schemed bottle, but the Coach lantern seems to go great with all kinds of colours. Also current day Mathmos Astro bottles also work with the Crestworth Lantern.
Please see example below. Also please note the copper parts and the green felted base. When polishing or restoring a Crestworth Lantern note that the top rod handle piece, screws and cap are all detachable. You can also polish the two metal side rods of the lamp by unscrewing them. Please be very gentle when unscewing them. The base requires more care and please be careful not to get any liquid on the switch of the lantern.
Always use gentle polish, as you don't want too take too much of the finish off. Lanterns are wonderful lamps, but they do favour the more traditional home design. If you have a lantern and don't want it, why not buy a new bottle for it and give it a new look. Or donate it as a gift or to a charity shop. Please do not throw away the lantern as it is a wonderful product and will give joy to many people in the future. Most of the lamps I own are second or even third hand.
Above one can see images of the Astro Coach Lamp. Please note the metal parts and the green felted base. To change a light bulb on the lantern product please follow the guidelines below.
Please wait for lamp to cool if the lamp is warm. Undo the screws on the sides of the cap. Remove metal cap. Lift bottle out. Replace with a 40 watt golfball style bulb. Then place the bottle back onto the lamp. Screw back the cap and metal components on the top. Switch on and Enjoy!
Cosmos Design. - Seen exclusively in Export Markets such as France.
Cosmos Design - A rare lamp design which was the first Crestworth lamp which used the "jet" type bottle and pre-dates the Astro Nordic design. It features a cyclindrical metal shape that houses a "jet" style bottle, the base design then forms a thin metal rod and wider base. The flex on this is the red/black and green colour code earth wire attached to the base via a screw. The design was also made in copper but it is very rarely seen.
These lamps are very elegant however they were designed for export markets. They are often seen in France, and also seen documented in a French Crestworth Brochure. Here are the colour combinations for the Cosmos, from an Early Crestworth French Brochure. They were featured in both slow moving glitterlite glitter and in lava.
Glitter Colours: Pink (Rose), Amber (Ambre), Blue (Bleu), Green (Vert). These colours are shown in the illustration above.
Original French Export Lava Colours written in French: jaune-bleu, rouge-bleu, rouge-rose, rouge-jaune. Please note that the wax colour is listed first, then the liquid masterfluid follows.
Original Lava Colours translated in English: yellow-blue, red-blue, red-pink, red-yellow. Please note that the wax colour is listed first, then the liquid masterfluid follows. This is how the list is displayed in the brochure. These colours are shown above.
Distinctively Scandinavian: Astro Nordic. The cone base really elevates the base of the lamp. Please see below for Astro Nordic Base & Design.
Packaging & Colour Coded Boxes.
Early Astro's boxes tend to be brown card with red printing. Later red boxes were used as with the Astro mini's. The nordics tend to have blue box. Living jewels have a light purple box. The original telstar had a pinky red box. The Astro Coach lanterns had a white and orange box. The phantom lite's box was light pink. The aromalite's was brown card with black/white picture.
Please Note: The living jewel box picture shows nordic size cap however the lamp has standard jet size cap. Living jewel's in the telstar base came in standard telstar bubble/glitterlite boxes but used standard jet size cap. More pictures of boxes will be added soon.
The Evolution of the Crestworth Astro.
The Astro, evolved through the 60s and the 70s, this history has been sequenced. Below are some details on the various designs of the Crestworth Astro.After numberous prototypes and patents the Astro was released in 1963. The early Astro had liquid wax as apposed to solid wax and came in a copper anodised finish. Early designs of the Astro can be seen in the Cult TV Series: The Prisoner. The Astro progressed from using a liquid based formula to a solid based formula, which proved to have several advantages and was resistant to the shipping requirements.
First Design: The Beginning... Early First Generation Astros have a two part design, which features two cones that slip into one another, the power cable runs between them. They also feature an exposed green earth wire. Early Astros used wide-neck bottles and very thin caps. Thus they showed the level of the fluid when the lamp is switched off and the air gap at the top. People often think they are missing fluid but this is not the case.
Second Design. Second generation Astros also feature wide-neck bottles with a flatter style top which shows the level of the fluid. Also the second generation Astros feature a metal plate on the base which prevents you from touching the interior. The earth cable and power cable are go through this earth plate via a hole in the center of the plate.
Third Design. Third generation Astros have the same wideneck bottles. The base is a two part construction. The features two lines/ bands on the upper part of the base. The base is felted and often has four bubble feet.
Forth Design. The forth generation Astro, brought a slimmer style bottle. The base is nearly identical to the 3rd generation Astros and features the same 2 indentations/ lines/ bands on the top part of the base. Where this design differs to the 3rd, is that this design has 5 bubble feet which gives the base added stability. This base was also green felted on the underside.
Fifth design. The Fifth generation of the Astro, is the most commonly seen 1970s model, and uses standard Astro bottles. It was the first design to be mass manufactured in one part. The lamp has no earth and it was more inexpensive to produce. Having said this, it is still a beautiful piece. The immediate sign of the 5th Generation Astro is the bakelite black plate on the base, which features the Crestworth details on the underside.
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Special Gallery: Crestworth Galaxy Photo Montage.
Special Gallery: Crestworth Phantom Lite.
Special Gallery: Mathmos Initial Modern Range.