Lantern

From the collections of PVMA • Digital image © Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Assoc. • Image use information

About this item

This free-blown glass globe lamp burned kerosene. Up until the Civil War, Americans had been searching for safe and affordable oil to burn in their lamps. Since 1846, it had been known that lamp fuel could be created from coal, but the process was so expensive that it was not widely used. In 1859, oil was discovered in America at Titusville, Pennsylvania. The technology was soon developed to create kerosene out of oil, and an industry was born. Oil-based kerosene was cheap and available enough that until gas lighting reached a home, kerosene became the standard lighting oil for the duration of the 19th century.

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Details

Item typeLighting Device
Datecirca 1850
TopicHome Life, Household Items, Furniture
EraNational Expansion and Reform, 1816–1860
MaterialMetal; Glass
Process/FormatGlass; Metalworking
Dimension detailsHeight: 10.25 in Width: 5.31 in
Catalog #K.106
View this item in our curatorial database →
Lantern. ca. 1850. Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, American Centuries. https://americancenturies.org/collection/k-106/. Accessed on December 8, 2024.

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