452 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



November, 1908 



probably much older, and 

 date well back into the 

 eighteenth century. The 

 specimens shown in Figs. 

 5 and 6 belong to the Os- 

 good collection. Obser/e 

 here the difference in form 

 between the molded wax 

 candles used in Fig. 5 and 

 the bayberry dip candles 

 shown in Fig. 6. This lat- 

 ter plate deserves careful 

 study. About the year 

 1830 fashion decreed the 



7 — Bronze Lamps Mounted on Marble 



emitted a disagreeable 

 odor. 



With the introduction 

 of whale oil, lamps came 

 into more common use, 

 and in 1782 a Frenchman 

 named Argand, then living 

 in Geneva, invented the 

 lamp which still bears his 

 name, and in which, by 

 means of a hollow wick 

 and a glass chimney, a 

 strong and clear light is 

 produced by placing the 



use of lamps and candelabra which were hung with cut-glass flame between two currents of air. Thomas Jefferson 



prisms. Great popularity was attained by sets of candelabra brought the first Argand lamp to this country, and presented 



such as this one, to ornament the mantels. These sets con- it to his friend Thomson. The light was much admired, 



sisted of a three-pronged candelabrum for the middle, with but the price of these lamps was beyond the means of persons 



a single candlestick of sim- 

 ilar design for each side. 

 It will be seen that the 

 base is of marble, while 

 the gilt standard is cast in 

 the form of the well- 

 known "Paul and Vir- 

 ginia" group. At the base 

 of each candle a brass-gilt 

 ornament, shaped like an 

 inverted crown, supports 

 sparkling prisms, which 

 quiver with every step 

 upon the floor, and which 

 catch the light in rainbow 

 reflections at every slight- 

 est motion, on account of 

 their pendant position. 



From a well-known Sa- 

 lem house came the lamps 

 of the same period, shown 

 in Fig. 7. These are of 

 bronze, mounted upon a 

 marble base. The reser- 

 voir which holds the oil is 

 beneath the long prisms 

 which depend from the 

 central standard. The 



8 — Old-time Salem Lamps 



in the ordinary walks of 

 life, who continued to use 

 candles, of tallow, if poor, 

 of wax, if in more com- 

 fortable circumstances. 



However, the introduc- 

 tion of chimneys and of 

 movable wicks had so im- 

 proved the general char- 

 acter of the lamp that its 

 general acceptance was a 

 mere matter of time. Once 

 the theory of producing a 

 brilliant flame was discov- 

 ered, lamps began to be 

 made in all sizes, shapes 

 and materials. The use of 

 pewter, brass and glass 

 brought expenses down to 

 a reasonable figure, while 

 more ornate fashions pre- 

 vailed among the wealthy. 

 The oil receptacle was sup- 

 ported in some styles at 

 the top of a slender col- 

 umn, as in Fig. 8. In 

 others it hung from a rod. 

 Many of the lamps made 



flaring chimneys of ground glass softened and shaded the wholly of glass were graceful and pleasing, 

 light, while they kept it from flickering, in case of sudden The lamps represented in Fig. 9 are to be seen in the 

 drafts of air. house of Mr. Arthur West, of Salem. The small glass lamps 

 Lamps were in use in the colonies during the latter part at each side were made at a very early period, and are among 

 of the seventeenth cen- the oldest specimens in this 

 tury; but they were the ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ country. The tall solar 

 Betty lamps or Phoebe I •/ vSBJI^^BHHi^^^^^^^^^H lamp belongs to the open- 

 lamps, made of iron, pew- ~^^^^^^fc ^M m & °^ tne nineteenth cen " 

 ter or brass. They were fi^^^H I^^^HSl^^^h tury. The bronze lamps 

 shaped somewhat like ^Sfl^^v ^^^^HfiTtl^H m ^ '&' IO are ^ rom the 

 bowls or gravv boats, with ^^Br- ^^^Hxf ;^^B collection of Mrs. H. P. 

 a blunt lip at one side, on ^w V Benson, of Salem. They 

 which rested the protrud- ^K i;A . -; M show a favorite style of 

 ing end of the wick, which sJ^^^t ^^^^B^*^^H early ground-glass chim- 



commonly made of £| 1 Wm ,lLV ' Ground glass 



tightly twisted rags. In m^W ' B^3 usec ^ ^ or tn * s P ur P ose °e- 



these open lamps were Wb&k B§1 cause our ancestors fancied 



burned tallow, grease and b^S tnat these lamps shed a 



crude oils. They were 'i^^^^Hflfl^^^^Hfi '^^H glare too intense and daz- 



used in bedrooms, and in MHi zling for their taste. They 



passing from one room to Hi ' fe^fi did not live in the days of 



another. Their light was B ' \ ^^ __,„_J the arc light! 



but a feeble glimmer. The richly ornamented 



They dripped fat and 10— Lamps with Ground Glass Chimneys— Mrs. H. P. Benson's Collection specimen in Fig. II is 



