R.E. Dietz Company Blizzard Lantern Vintage Pin

At age 22, in 1840, Robert Edwin Dietz bought a small lamp and oil shop in Brooklyn, NY. Robert, with his brother William, called the company Dietz, Brother, and Company. One of their first products was a candle lantern; they later made sperm whale oil lamps, girandoles, hall lamps, and chandeliers. Three more of the brothers joined the company in 1855, and the name became Dietz and Company. In 1868, Robert sold his interest in Dietz and Company and partnered with Absalom Smith to form a new company, Dietz & Smith. When Smith purchased 6,000 velocipedes (a mid-19th-century bicycle) on company credit, Robert decided he was a bad business partner, bought Smith’s interest, and continued the company as R.E. Dietz.