Have You Seen Me?

this is a Thompson Gas Heater made by the Thompson Mfg. Co. out of Huntington W. Va., Model #119R.

it used to belong to my late grandparents on my father's side. it's been in my family at least since i was a little kid, probably much longer. near as i can tell it's still in working order (my dad says it is) but i haven't hooked it up. i just think it's a beautiful piece of Deco craftsmanship and keep it in my living room more as a sculpture than anything. the Art Deco era is one of my favorite periods in art. as Bailey Quarters (played by Jan Smithers) from the show WKRP once said: Art deco is just about the last architectural style in which humanistic design and fine craftsmanship were valueable considerations. After that came the glass and steel box. Originally it was considered an art form, but it caught on mainly because it was cheap to hang curtains of glass and have load-bearing walls. The machine was a metaphor for these constructions. The machine was in, people were out. Space became more important than the place. Singularity of design replaced variety, which of course is the very essence of life.

all that aside, i can not find anything about it, or the company that made it, on the internet except for court records from 1926, and 1971 . i can't find anything about the heater itself. anyone reading this blog who knows something about this heater or A.F. Thompson please feel free to email me what you know. any help would be appreciated. thank you.