were paid up to S2.00 per person for the job and were 

 not loyal to any one party, but were merely doing an 

 assignment. A large number of these so-called 

 "hired marchers" were actually very young boys who 

 were below the voting age. Fire companies were 

 another group who usually participated in the parades. 

 Already trained in parade tactics and usually possess- 

 ing uniforms, the firemen could be readily used. 

 Rain or shine, these paraders performed their duty 

 and, in many instances, moved from city to city as the 

 candidate traveled. Business men participating in 

 the parades were sometimes reported to have worn 

 the distinctive apparel of their occupations, but gen- 

 erally the marchers had special uniforms of patriotic 

 colors. Some of these uniforms are in the collections 

 of the division of political history. Museum of History 

 and Technology. 



The parades often lasted two to three hours. Ban- 

 ners, torches, flags, and transparencies were carried 

 and, quite often, objects were conveyed through the 

 streets as floats are today. The participants sang 

 campaign songs and shouted slogans. Streamers were 

 strung across the streets and the houses along the 

 parade routes were gayly decorated. The torches 

 were at first rather clumsy, and the paraders wore 

 colorful oilcloth capes to protect their clothing from 

 the kerosene drippings. This led to the development 

 of marching uniforms which enterprising manufac- 

 turers later sold complete with a torch for each par- 

 ticipant. 



Many torches were patented during the last half of 

 the 19th century, but it is doubtful whether all of them 

 were ever actually manufactured. Most of the pat- 

 ents dealt with improvements in the supporting device 

 of the torch, although some involved changes in the 

 design of the torch bowl itself, and a few related to 

 improvements in the wick or burning mechanism. 

 A few homemade torches which were never patented 

 are also known to exist. In 1876, when torchlight 

 parades were nearing their peak, at least five im- 

 proved or different torches were patented. Tech- 

 niques in campaigning changed at the turn of the 

 century, however, and torchlight parades declined in 

 frequency and importance. 



This study is based on objects in the Museum of 

 History and Technology acquired from Ralph E. 

 Becker, George H. Watson, Carl Haverlin, Mrs. R. A. 

 Hubbard, the estate of Dora R. and Stuart P. Heit- 

 muller, Sam A. Cousley, and The Unexcelled Fire- 

 works Company, all of which are in the collections of 

 the division of political history; on the Anton 



Heitmuller Collection and tiie collection of U.S. 

 patent models in the division of cultural history; 

 on the Jewett Tin Collection in the department of 

 arts and manufacturers; and on the private collec- 

 tions of J. Doyle DeWitt, Hartford, Connecticut, and 

 Mrs. Grace D. Williams, Akron, Ohio. Illustrations 

 have also been used from the prints and photographs 

 division and the serials division, Library of Con- 

 gress; and Patent OHice records. 



Two of the best sources of documentation for 

 torches have been the United States patent applications 

 in the U.S. Patent Office and the company trade 

 catalogs found in the collections of the Library of 

 Congress and in the Smithsonian Institution. The 

 United States patent records, interferences, and 

 correspondence in the National Archives have also 

 provided useful information. Most of the scenes of 

 the torchlight parades were engravings rather than 

 photographs and, as such, do not lend themselves to 

 correct identification of the torches used. 



The following newspapers in the collections of the 

 Library of Congress and the Ralph E. Becker Collec- 

 tion in the Museum of History and Technology, were 

 used: Harper's Weekly, The World, New York Daily 

 Tribune, Boston Daily Advertiser, The Daily Times and 

 Dispatch, The Presidency, Frank Leslie's Illustrated 

 .Newspaper, and The Illustrated London News. Also used 

 were items from the Becker Collection: an 1880 

 circular of E. G. Rideout & Co.; an advertising card 

 of the National Campaign Equipment Company; an 

 illustrated listing of objects sold by Robert Sneider; a 

 scrapbook of Rhode Island newspaper clippings kept 

 by Rt. Rev. \V. H. Chandler; and other manuscript 

 material. 



Most political campaign torches are not marked with 

 any type of identification. Only in very rare instances 

 does one find the patent date on a torch. However, 

 many can be identified with the patent drawings 

 submitted by the patentee. In some instances, the 

 patent models themselves have been located and 

 these have been included in this study. Considering 

 the number of torches manufactured and sold during 

 the last half of the 19th century, it is amazing how 

 few have survived. 



While the real purpose of this study has been to 

 trace the development of political campaign torches 

 made of tin, other lighting devices of a related nature 

 have also been briefly treated, in part because of the 

 difficulty of separating the two types and in part to 

 give the reader a general idea of all lighting devices 

 used in parades. 



PAPER 4 5 : POLITICAL CAMPAIGN TORCHES 



