# newbie / question about old mystery flashlight



## chunkstyle (Nov 20, 2009)

hi guys --

i'm a newbie here -- found your forum while researching this old flashlight i vaguely remember from my childhood. i was wondering if anyone could please give me some input on this.

i sorta remember this flashlight my grandpa had when i was a kid, probably sometime around 1970 - 1978, and i'm trying to find out if it really existed, or if it was just something i've imagined all these years. it probably sounds stupid, but i've always wondered in the back of my mind if it was real or not -- as an adult, i've found that you have these vague memories from childhood that may or may not be true, and this one has always bugged me a bit.

the flashlight i remember (again -- my memory's pretty hazy about this) was reddish-colored plastic (maybe toward the maroon end of red), with a textured finish, and was ovalish-to-kidney-shaped and kinda flat, like a palm flashlight or something. the bulb, if i remember correctly, was embedded in one end, and may have been encircled by a metal trim piece resembling a finishing washer. i don't remember how it switched on and off -- maybe a squeeze light of some kind.

i don't remember exactly, but i may have swiped it from him because it was so cool, and then snuck it back because i felt really guilty. dumb kid!

have any of you ever encountered a light like this or not? i've always wondered about it, but never thought to ask my grandpa before he died, and so am unsure if it actually existed or not.

one of those dumb childhood things, you know?

thank you!


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## parnass (Nov 20, 2009)

:welcome: Welcome to CPF.

The Flashlight Museum web site displays photos of several old lights. You might find your light there.


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## jamesmtl514 (Nov 21, 2009)

i hope I'm not hijacking this thread, but more giivng it a free bump. 
i went to the flashlightmuseum page and saw this guy, 
http://www.flashlightmuseum.com/flashlights/DU00007.jpg
i think it was the first flashlight i ever owned.


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## Backpacker Light (Nov 23, 2009)

chunkstyle said:


> i sorta remember this flashlight my grandpa had when i was a kid......
> 
> i've always wondered in the back of my mind if it was real or not -- as an adult, i've found that you have these vague memories from childhood that may or may not be true, and this one has always bugged me a bit.
> 
> ...


 
:welcome:

Not dumb at all, there is nothing wrong with reminiscing about early childhood flashlight experiences. You have come to the right place!

I believe my current flashaholism may very well have come from a whole shoe box full of extra batteries, bulbs, and mismatched and "broken" flashlight parts, lenses, springs, etc. that I came upon while playing in my attic when I was maybe 6 or 7 years old. I guess I figured out the very basic simple steps of screwing the head and tail onto a body with the proper size batteries. I still remember the thrill of sliding the switch up and seeing LIGHT! I still think my parents were somewhat surprised at my ability to get a working flashlight out of that box of parts. I was then-after known as the go-to guy in the household to help with a non-functioning flashlight, quite an honor in my mind.

Eveready made a light back then that sounds something like the one you described. It was called a "Captain", and I believe it was a relatively high end and expensive light. Is this it?

http://www.flashlightmuseum.com/Eveready-Flashlight-3300-Red-Rechargeable-Captain-Flashlight-1964


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## chunkstyle (Dec 15, 2009)

thanks for the replies, guys. amazingly, it was in the museum, and is called a "perma-flash."

http://www.flashlightmuseum.com/Misc-Unknown-Flashlight-Red-Plastic-Perma-Flash-Made-in-Japan-1950

i'd like to get one, for old times' sake, but mostly am just satisfied to simply find that this half-remembered light of my grandpa's _did_ really exist, and that it wasn't just some nonsense imaginary childhood thing.

pretty weird flashlight, but distinctive. thanks for the help!


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## Dances with Flashlight (Dec 16, 2009)

The LED MUSEUM is an amazing place.





Craig has educated and entertained a lot of us.


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## RavinRoadie (Dec 30, 2009)

....speaking of old flashlights... I used to have a "Flash Gordon" tin single D light with the original battery.... sold it on ebay when I thought I had too many collectables... kickin' myself now......


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