COLLECTION OF HEATING AND LIGHTING UTENSILS 

 IN THE UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



By Walter Hough 

 Head Curator of Anthropology, United States National Museum 



INTRODUCTION 



The collection of heating and illuminating appliances in the United 

 States National Museum was begun about 40 years ago by bringing 

 together specimens from the ethnological series and from other mate- 

 rial acquired by the Museum. The collection grew slowly, but about 

 1890 an effort was made to increase its scope. At present the collec- 

 tion numbers about 1,000 specimens. It is far from the required 

 standard, yet it contains all the types needed to elucidate the history 

 and ethnography of heating and illumination. Of the collection a 

 series suggesting the development of lighting inventions was placed 

 on permanent display in the museum. The specimens illustrating 

 the earlier history of the development of these subjects were allocated 

 to ethnology, while the series beginning with the age of progress were 

 assigned to mechanical technology, which exhibits electric lamps and 

 modern heating inventions. For illustration, however, some of the 

 later forms are included. The collection is regarded as technological 

 and no attempt was made to gather objects of art. The specimens are 

 classified and described according to the way by which lighting and 

 heating were effected. 



As a logical starting point we may conceive that at some period 

 of the past man took up the use of fire in response evidently to a 

 human need. What need fire served in that early stage is surmise, 

 but from observations of the use of fire among less advanced peoples 

 it is deduced that what fire supplied was light, warmth, companion- 

 ship, and perhaps protection from wild beasts. It will be seen that 

 the quality of light giving is one of the most valuable adjuncts of 

 fire. Doubtless in the earlier periods light was chiefly serviceable 

 for the needs of what is conceived to have been quite a low state of 

 culture. Adaptations of fire heat to the warming of the body or for 

 cooking comes much later than light usages. For this reason the 



1 



