Thermidor is one of several brand names associated with Samuel Heath & Sons (S.H&S) a Birmingham based company that began life in the 1860’s, making things out of brass eg. taps, bedsteads, candlesticks etc. Like many other UK companies, SH&S were quick to capitalize on the burgeoning outdoor market between the two world wars, by producing paraffin stoves very similar to the Primus which had been invented in the 1890’s. Indeed, the wee stove that we have here in the collection is very similar to the Primus ‘96 …see picture opposite. We suspect that the one we have here dates from the 1950’s. We already had an empty tin lying around so bought the stove itself on e-Bay for a few pounds in 2023. This type of stove was called ‘wickless’ to define it from lamps that soaked up the fuel via a wick. The pressurised paraffin versions, of which this is one, was invented by Primus and produced a much hotter flame.