We are not too sure exactly how the patent system works, but we do know that Frans Wilhelm Lindquist took out a Swedish patent on his paraffin stove in 1892 and went on to manufacture millions of them under the name of Primus(meaning first in latin). It wasn’t long before the rest of the world realised that this was an extremely good product and with or without patents, paraffin stoves began to appear – with a myriad different names – though all looking remarkably like a Primus. Monitor were an engineering firm based in Stetchford, Birmingham and were one of the many UK firms who were quick to realise the value of the Primus stove and like many similar companies they also produced blowlamps which were very similar in operation.(see associated items) Electricity was far from universal back in the 1930’s when monitor started making their version of the Primus, and there was a big domestic market for fairly large stoves to be used in the home. It was only when the outdoor market began to blosson after World War Two that we started to see the smaller, lightweight and collapsible versions produced specifically for the camper, mountaineer and tourer. We have a lovely example of a Monitor stove from that era (circa 1950) here in the collection – the only thing that is missing on our website is an ‘Aroma Button’ as this stove, along with all paraffin stoves, exudes a wonderful aroma that speaks of days on mountain and in camp.