ARTIFICIAL LIGHTING IN AMERICA — WATKINS 393 



of oil. Tlic symmetrical design permitted making liandsome lamps 

 of tin, pewter, brass, and glass, and tlieir simplicity made them eco- 

 nomical and easy to clean. The whaling industry, already well 

 established, was able to provide the necessary fuel for these devices, 

 particularly in the Northeast, their increasing popularity after 1800 

 having been a basic reason for the expansion of whaling. By 1830 

 the "common" or whale-oil lamp (as Miles's lamp came to be called) 

 had become a standard household device in the East. A large part of 

 the output of the glass factories in Pittsburgh, Sandwich, and Cam- 

 bridge consisted of glass whale-oil lamps, while pewterers and tin- 

 smiths welcomed the new form so admirably adapted to their skills. 

 However, the light emitted from a whale-oil lamp with a single wick 

 was not much gi*eater than that of a candle. This lamp had a solid 

 wick and rarely included a chimney. Its popular appeal was there- 

 fore attributable to economy, simplicity, and satisfactory appearance. 



It is initially surprising that the most radical innovation of all, 

 though introduced before 1830, was not widely accepted until after the 

 Civil AVar. This was illuminating gas, first used for domestic light- 

 ing by David Melville, of Newport, R. I. , in 1806. Although Melville's 

 enthusiasm for gas light led him to install it in a nearby textile mill 

 as well as in street lamps outside his house, it remained for a long time 

 a novelty. As early as 1799 or 1800 one Mr. Plenfry had demonstrated 

 gas light in Baltimore, and in 1816 Ecmbrandt Peale used gas to light 

 his museum in that city. So successful was it there that the first com- 

 mercial installation of gas street lights was urged and adopted by the 

 Baltimore citizenry within the following year. Except for street 

 lighting in most of the larger cities, gas illumination was confined prin- 

 cipally to theaters, museiuns, and other public gathering places. 

 Elaborate technical requirements and installation problems remained 

 as hurdles that were difficult to overcome. Gas lighting was still 

 uncommon in 1843, when the Franklin Institute conducted experiments 

 to prove its utility. It was concluded that gas could be credited with 

 giving "bright and continuous light," cleanliness, and freedom from 

 variation, smell, smoke, or care, yet "its disadvantage is that it is a 

 fixed light, and can be used only at points previously determined upon" 

 (Journal, 1843, ser. 3, vol. 5, p. 105). 



The fixtures then used for gas ranged from simple brackets project- 

 ing from the wall to very elaborate chandeliers. The predominantly 

 public use of gas during the 1830-60 period accounts largely for the 

 latter, which are both illustrated and commented upon in contem- 

 porary literature. The Report on Lamp and Gas Fixtures in the 13th 

 Annual Exhibit of the Franklin Institute in 1844 describes "the richly 

 ornamented gas pendants and chandeliers finished in ormolu, the 

 workmanship of which is exceedingly beautiful, the color faultless, 

 and the whole such as to satisfy the most fastidious taste, and in com- 



