Until the advent of electric lighting,
Victorian householders relied on a variety of types of artificial illumination
from oil and kerosene lamps to gas fixtures. Candles, which had been the
principle source of artificial lighting for centuries, continued to be used as
a supplement to the more efficient and brighter types of lighting provided by
oil and gas. In the first half of the
nineteenth century, a number of different types of oil lamps illuminated the
interiors of American homes. These
included Argand, Astral, Sinumbra, and Solar lamps.
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Argand Lamp
Attributed to Messenger Company
1835-1840
London, England
Bronze, gilt brass
Collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
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In 1782, a Swiss chemist named Aime Argand invented an oil lamp with a hollow cylindrical wick that allowed air to pass to the center of the flame, causing it to burn more intensely. The oil that fueled the lamp was contained in a font, or reservoir, that stood to one side of the burner. These lamps were made in both France and England shortly after Argand’s invention. Many examples were imported into America, where there were just a few native manufacturers of oil lamps. Among the earliest owners of Argand lamps in the United States were Thomas Jefferson and George Washington, both of whom were in possession of examples in the 1790s. Argand lamps did not come into widespread use in America until the early nineteenth century. By the 1810s, they were found in primarily wealthy households, as only well-to-do families could afford the expensive whale oil needed to fuel the lamps. Argand lamps continued to be used into the early and middle years of the Victorian period.
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Argand Lamp
Lewis Veron and Company
c.1820-1830
Brass and glass
Collection of the Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, TX
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Nineteenth-century Argand lamps were made of either bronze or brass. Sometimes the two metals were combined in a single lamp or if made exclusively of brass, the lamp was given a bronze finish. The relief decoration on bronze Argand lamps was frequently gilded. Many examples produced between about 1820 and 1850 are classical in design, featuring a font in the shape of a Grecian urn and decoration of acanthus leaves, a motif found in ancient Greek and Roman art. One or two branches extend from the font, which is always off to the side of the burner and slightly above it. Gravity pulls the oil from the font and through a tube that connects to the burner. Made in pairs or in sets of three, Argand lamps were placed either on the mantelpiece or on brackets mounted onto the wall. Such impressive sets served as much for show as for additional illumination. Simpler Argand lamps were produced for use at a desk or a table. Known as student lamps, these examples feature an adjustable branch that can be raised or lowered to concentrate the light as needed.
While the Argand lamp had a great advantage over candles, producing a brighter, steadier and more intense light, it had one major drawback—it cast a shadow over the room. The font, which was adjacent to the burner, obstructed the path of the light. To remedy this problem, a Frenchman invented in 1809 an oil lamp with a flattened, ring-shaped font that encircled the burner. The light cast by the flame spread evenly over the font. Because the uniformly cast light was reminiscent of a star, this new type of oil lamp was named 'Astral.' The burner of an Astral surmounts a shaft in the form of a column, and a glass shade rests on the font. As in an Argand lamp, a glass chimney placed over the burner causes the flame to burn brighter. The tall, columnar shape of the Astral lamp made it ideal for the new center tables that were appearing in European drawing rooms and American parlors. Documentary evidence indicates that Astral lamps were in use in the United States by the 1820s and continued to be found in American homes into the early Victorian years.
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Pair of Sinumbra Lamps
Cornelius and Company (active 1839-1851)
c.1827-1831
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Gilded brass, bronze, glass
Collection of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL
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In 1820, the English improved upon the Astral lamp by introducing a flatter ring-shaped font with an upper surface that sloped even lower to further reduce the shadow. The new type of oil lamp was named 'Sinumbra,' which means "without shadow." In a Sinumbra lamp, oil is fed to the burner by connecting tubes that extend from the font. Like the Astral lamp, the Sinumbra features a columnar shaft. A glass shade in the form of a low, spreading baluster rests on the font, while a glass chimney rises from the center. The shades are frosted and occasionally embellished with cut decoration.
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Solar Lamp
1850-1860 United States Gilded brass, glass
Photograph©Northeast Auctions, Portsmouth, NH
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The high cost of whale oil placed Argand, Astral and Sinumbra lamps beyond the reach of most families. In the 1840s, a new type of oil lamp, the 'Solar,' was introduced as an affordable alternative. The Solar lamp was fueled with lard oil, which was much cheaper than whale oil, making this type of lamp available to a larger segment of the population. The Solar lamp is distinguished by a font in the form of an inverted pear, located below the burner. A glass chimney encloses the burner and rises from the center of a glass baluster-shaped shade that is typically frosted and sometimes cut with decorative motifs.
While oil lamps provided better illumination than candles, they had a number of annoying drawbacks. The lamps had to be frequently refueled, the oil tended to leak, and regular cleanings were required to ensure that the flame would continue to burn brightly.
The artificial illumination of domestic interiors was greatly improved in the second half of the nineteenth century through the widespread adoption of gas lighting.
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Gas Chandelier
Probably designed by Henry N. Hooper and Company (active 1832-1868)
Attributed to Boston and Sandwich Glass Company (active 1825-1888)
c.1850
Sandwich, Massachusetts
Glass, brass
Collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
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The inventor and engineer William Murdoch first introduced gas lighting in England in 1792 when he used manufactured gas to light his cottage in Boulton. Shortly after its introduction, gas lighting began to appear on London streets and in places of public entertainment during the early decades of the nineteenth century. Gas lighting reached America in 1816 when the city of Baltimore installed gas lamps along its streets. Soon afterwards gas lighting began to illuminate the streets of other American cities. In 1816, the Peal Museum in Baltimore installed gas fixtures, making it one of the earliest public buildings in the United States to be lighted by gas. Gas lighting was first introduced to the domestic interior during the 1840s. By the mid-nineteenth century, gas lighting was in widespread use in homes in urban areas, where there were gas companies that generated and supplied the gas necessary to light the fixtures. Gas lighting continued to be used into the opening years of the twentieth century, when it was eventually supplanted by electric lighting.
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Gas Chandelier
1850-1860
New York City, New York or Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Gilded brass, glass
Photograph©Fontaine's Auction Gallery, Pittsfield, MA
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Either natural or manufactured gas was used to fuel gas lighting. Manufactured gas, the more common type, was typically derived from coal. Coal enclosed in red-hot cast-iron cylinders emitted a gas that was cleaned and purified before being stored in sheet-iron "gasometers," or tanks. Mains laid in city streets carried the gas to houses and other buildings, where the gas was supplied to the fixtures by means of pipes in walls and ceilings. Each gas fixture consisted of one or more branches, or arms, that terminated in burners enclosed by glass shades. To light a gas fixture, it was necessary to first release the gas by turning a wing nut-like attachment on the arm, called a "stop cock." The gas reached the burner, or "gas jet," where it was ignited to produce a flame. Gas jets produced flames of different shapes, including batswing, rat-tail, cockscomb, and cockspur.
Lighting manufacturers produced a range of gas fixtures for the domestic interior, from multi-branch chandeliers to one- or two-arm wall sconces, the latter described during the period as "brackets." The selection included single-branch sconces with adjustable arms, chandeliers that could be lowered or raised by means of a system of pulleys, and portable table lamps, which were supplied with gas by means of an India rubber hose that connected to a nearby gas fixture. A simple type of gas ceiling fixture in the shape of an inverted T, called a "pendant," consisted of the pipe and two perpendicular branches.
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Gas Chandelier
Attributed to Mitchell, Vance and Company (active 1860-1887)
c.1870
New York City, New York
Brass, glass
Collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
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Brass, bronze and cast iron were among the materials commonly used in the manufacture of gas fixtures. For a more luxurious effect, the brass or bronze was gilded. The central support and extending branches were decorated with motifs deriving from one of the many historical revival styles popular during the Victorian era, such as Gothic, Rococo, Renaissance, Egyptian, and Neo-Grec. Glass shades, which rest on rings attached to the ends of the branches, are typically frosted and sometimes cut with a decorative design. The most elaborate gas fixtures are hung with cut-glass pendants.
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The ready availability of gas in urban areas and the extensive use of gas lighting in the home resulted in the emergence of a number of manufacturers of gas fixtures.
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Kerosene Lamp
Late 19th century
United States
Brass, glass
Photograph©Wooden Nickel Antiques, Cincinnati, OH
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Despite its popularity, gas by no means supplanted other types of lighting fuels. Gas lighting was frequently unavailable in rural areas due to the absence of gas generating plants. Because most gas fixtures were attached to walls or ceilings, they could not be moved to areas of a room where concentrated light was needed. Gas table lamps were available, but these needed to be placed close to a gas source and the range of movement was restricted by the length of the India rubber hose. Oil lamps continued to be used into the middle decades of the nineteenth century, when they either supplemented gas lighting or served as the primary source of lighting where gas was not an option.
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Kerosene Lamp
Mount Washington Glass Company (active 1837-1958)
c.1886-1890
New Bedford, Massachusetts
Blown, enameled and gilded Peachblow glass, brass
Photograph©Clars Auction Gallery, Oakland, CA
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The 1860s witnessed the increased availability of a relatively new type of lighting based on a fuel distilled initially from coal but later and less expensively from petroleum. Called kerosene, this fuel produced a clear, bright light and was cheaper than other types of lighting fuels. The rapid growth of kerosene lighting began after 1859 when petroleum was first successfully drilled in Titusville, Pennsylvania. The oil boom that ensued provided large quantities of the raw material from which kerosene was derived. By the 1870s, kerosene had superseded earlier types of lamp oil.
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Kerosene Chandelier
Attributed to Bradley and Hubbard Manufacturing Company (active 1852-1940)
c.1883-1884
Meriden, Connecticut
Cast-iron, brass, glass
Collection of the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.
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Like earlier oil lamps, kerosene lamps consist of a font for the fuel, a burner with a wick, and a glass chimney that directs air around the flame. Instead of a tubular wick, kerosene fixtures typically contain a flat, ribbon-like wick. Brass, bronze, blown glass, molded glass, silverplate, porcelain, and pottery were used in the manufacture of kerosene lamps. The glass shades—spherical or hemispherical in shape—were frosted, colored, shaded, molded with ribs or other motifs in relief, or painted with landscapes, seascapes or floral decoration. Kerosene fixtures were made in the form of table, banquet, floor, hanging, and bracket lamps.
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