Object Story: Lamp - Body
Lamp
Look around you. How many light sources do you see that are not coming from the sun? These are all human-made or artificial lights. Why don’t we just rely on the sun’s light? Our survival as a species is not directly tied to the need for light, but we have been trying to conquer the darkness for thousands of years. What do you do when you are using artificial light? Study? Work? Socialize? Basic uses for light were the same in the past as they are now, but unlike the past we have come to rely very heavily on artificial light—and that has had some consequences throughout history.
William Webb (American, 1773-1868), Lamp, Warren, Maine, ca. 1815, brass with original camphine burner. Gift of Jonathan and Karin Fielding, 2016.25.79
The Two-Burner Lamp and the Quest for Better Artificial Light
The two-burner oil-burning lamp featured here (made around 1815) is an example of the many attempts by humans to improve the quality of artificial light. The two brass stems coming from the top are designed to hold two wicks and draw fuel (originally whale oil) from the cylinder-shaped oil reservoir. Although oil-burning lamps had been in use since prehistoric times, using two upright wicks was widely credited as an innovation developed by Benjamin Franklin that made the light slightly brighter and the wicks cleaner. Having clean wicks mattered because in a single burner, soot builds up on the wick. The user had to continually adjust the wick so that it kept burning. The hotter fire of the two-burner lamp melted the carbon soot from the wick and made less work for the user. Of course, this meant burning more whale oil, which is a not a limitless resource. The quest for convenience is often a big motivator for innovation.
William Webb (American, 1773-1868), Lamp, Warren, Maine, ca. 1815, brass with original camphine burner. Gift of Jonathan and Karin Fielding, 2016.25.79
As whale oil became more expensive (due to scarcity), many lamps like these were altered to burn camphine. Camphine is a mixture of turpentine (derived from pine trees) and alcohol. Burning whale oil gave off a brighter light than burning tallow (animal fat) candles, but camphine was even brighter and cleaner. It was cheaper, virtually smokeless, and sootless. Camphine was superior in all ways except that it posed a great danger to the user. If spilled or if the flame got too hot, the camphine lamp could actually explode. The threat of explosion was not a small problem, but it didn’t keep people from purchasing camphine. It was the cheapest and best source of light available at the time.
You can tell this particular lamp has most likely been retrofitted with a camphine burner because of the “V” shape of the wick stems. If burning too close together, camphine flames can get too hot and make explosions more likely.
This lamp tells the story of multiple lighting innovations and the lengths to which people are willing to go to see in the dark.