Batteries with Argus C3 Flash...WOW!!!

[nikon_sam]

I was given an Argus C3 Standard with the Flash...it's a very nice later copy that works well and it has a flash that also looks very nice...
What really got my interest was the batteries I found in the Flash...
They're Ray-O-Vac Sportsman "C" size batteries...
They are labeled with this Guarantee...
Guarantee: If your flashlight is damaged by this battery, send it to us with the batteries and we will send you a new flashlight with batteries.
When I thought to open the flash to check for batteries and felt that there were some in there I was concerned that they might have leaked...to my utter surprise they were like new...
I tried to look for any information on this battery but couldn't find anything...
I was wondering if anyone has ever seen these type...
The top of the battery also says 25 cents...and I just checked and they rate at 1.42 VDC each...😎

 

[shimokita]

I remember using these batteries in the late 50-60s as being quite good... in 1957, Ray-O-Vac merged with the Electric Storage Battery Co. and became a division of ESB. The Sportsman might have been a re-badged ESB battery???

 

[nikon_sam]

It has both Ray-O-Vac and ESB markings on it...
I think they're pretty cool looking...

 

[Dwig]

I don't remember the "Sportsman" line, but I do remember Ray-o-Vac batteries from the period with their paper "seal" over the positive terminal. It was a strip of paper trapped in the crimped edge that kept the battery from being shorted when stored. You tore it off before use. There is a trace of the red paper on these batteries.

 

[farlymac]

I've pulled a few of the red label Ray-O-Vacs out of various flashes over the years, and have never found a bad one (dead, yes, but not corroded). But then I've seen stuff that had carbon pile batteries in them that went bad ( a Kalart unit with a hole eaten right through the handle). Never came across the Sportsman version. I think you'd be more likely to find the Sportsman's in flashlights, as the others were marked for photo flash use.

PF