68 BULLETIN 141^ UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



place. The lamp was seriously designed as an instrument of pre- 

 cision and may have been adequate at the period (pi. Gib, fig. 1). 

 (Cat. No. 208097, Nuremburg, Germany; 14 inches (35.6 cm.) high.) 

 The lamp is dated about 1750. Of curious interest are time lamps 

 which were sold in America as late as 30 years ago. One of these, 

 called "the Weaver time lamp," is of pressed glass, has a round 

 woven wick, and a miniature chimney mounted in brass claws. The 

 hours are from 8 to 6. (PI. 61c, fig. 2, Cat. No. 316031; United 

 States; Kendrick Scofield; 8.8 inches (25 cm.) high.) Another, 

 called " Pride of America," was patented April, 1891 and 1896. It 

 is of pressed glass, with globular opaque glass chimney, and the 

 hours are also from 8 to 6. (PI. 61c, fig. 3, Cat. No. 176091, Phila- 

 delphia, Pa.; Stewart Culin; 6.7 inches (17 cm.) high.) 



CAMPHINB LAMPS 



The search for a good lamp oil which had been earnestly prosecuted 

 in the years following Argand's epoch-making discovery when in- 

 ventors strove to produce a perfect lamp seemed finished when in the 

 thirties camphine appeared. Properly, camphine is a product secured 

 by the distillation of turpentine over quicklime, namely, pineine, 

 a limpid fluid of agreeable odor, free burning without residue. 

 Spirits of turpentine had previously been used but abandoned on 

 account of its disagreeable odor. Camphine as sold for burning in 

 "fluid lamps" and the Vesta lamp, in which it was originally used, 

 was generally a mixture of turpentine and alcohol. Camphine is very 

 volatile and explosive and about as safe to use in lamps as gasoline. 

 On this account, despite many inventions to make its use practicable, 

 camphine was abandoned about 1850. During the camphine period, 

 which began about 1830, many of the two-tube whale-oil and lard-oil 

 lamps were converted in "fluid " lamps, having two tubes, but longer, 

 and inclined away from each other, as seen on Plate 63. The lamp 

 mentioned has a marble base, brass column, and pressed-glass reser- 

 voir with threaded collar cemented on. It was necessary in the cam- 

 phine lamps to have a cap for each tube to prevent evaporation from 

 the wick, and which also served as an extinguisher. (Cat. No. 178189, 

 Virginia; Walter Hough; 14 inches (36 cm.) high.) Plate 62 

 shows a variety of camphine lamps. Figure 1 is a fine cut-glass 

 lamp with pressed base and gracefully fashioned. It is complete with 

 the two-wick tube caps. (Cat. No. 13665, Baltimore, Md. ; James 

 Russell & Son; 14.2 inches (36 cm.) high.) Figure 4 is the reservoir 

 of an old whale-oil lamp converted to camphine. The base having 

 been broken off, the reservoir was firmly set in a block of wood to 

 extend its usefulness. (Cat. No. 325647, Massachusetts; Walter 

 Hough; 10.4 inches (25.5 cm.) high.) Figure 6 is a pewter two-tube 

 camphine lamp formerly used for whale or lard oil. (Cat. No. 



