IN THE DAYS OF ALL ADIN

Dominion, Volume 20, Issue 54, 27 November 1926, Page 24

IN THE DAYS OF ALL ADIN

EARLY FORMS OF LIGHTING

The earliest forms of lighting were verv crude, and one of the greatest difficulties was •to find an oil suitable for burning. The date of the first lamp is doubtful, but excavations in Assyria have proved that lamps of remarkably fine form were in common use many thousands of years ago. While they were naturally rough in form, they Were well designed, quite elegant in form, and made as well as the materials at hand would allow. In prehistoric days lamps were made in the form of small, open stone pots, filled with grease, and with a small piece of rag in the centre to serve as a wick The Eskimos until fairly recent times had very crude lamps of this type using the fat of the whale as an oil, and it was not so long ago that the natives of East ami West Africa used lamps made from half coconuts, filled with grease, with a small rag floating on the surface. This rag, when ignited by means of rubbing flints together, gave forth a volume of smoke that would choke one who was not used to it, for the smell was acrid and sickly. The most famous lamp in history, even though it is mythical, was that of Aladdin. This is interesting, since lamps very similar in form have been found in the ruins of, Babylonian cities. The body was shallow and circular, very much in the shape of the modern invalid’s feeding cup. The wick protruded through a spout, and on the other side was a handle for carrying purposes, shaped like the wick spout. There was a round hole in the top, with a close-fitting lid, for filling the lamp, and sometimes these specimens are found in the shapes of birds’ and animals’ heads There was a certain elegance about these lamps which is all the more surprising, since they must have burned verv badlv. The old lamp-makers, however, evidently paid more attention to the shape of the lamps than to their lighting capacity. Simple lamps and the more costlv specimens gave equally bad lighting, for the flame was unsteady and flickering. Holland was one of the first western European countries to use lamps. The body was cast in one piece, with a wick spout and handle cn opposite sides. From the handle hung a small chain and an even smaller pick to attend to the wick when it became clogged with dirt and burned oil. • There was a spindle on the end of the chain which was used to hang the lamn on the chair of one who was reading or doing needlework. It was

also hung sometimes across the fireplace. The greatest trouble experienced was in connection with the oil At this time oil was obtained from small fish which swarmed round the Dutch coast, but the light given was small and flickering and the smell of burning fish-oil must have made small rooms almost untenable. "Candlewood” was also used at this time. This was a form of pine, resinous and oily. The pine was cut up into short lengths and shaped like tall candles. These were wedged between the rough stones of the hearth, and they burned long and freelv They gave out such a black and voluminous smoke, however, that they were not verv nonglar even in those days of crude lighting. In about 1700 lamps were made with a small saucer-like attachment which served to catch the drops of oil that had been spoiling everything on which the lamps stood for several centuries. Whale oil was used to a considerable extent at this time, but candle-sticks were also used. At the time of Charles I, one of England’s biggest candle factories was started, and so successful was their manufacture that the King had them installed in his palace. Candles were as a rule at this time made of mutton and lamb tallow, but it is stated that the fragrant bayberry was also used, especially in America. This produced a nale green wax that gave out a soft light and a pleasant smell.

Pewter lamps soon became fashionable, and with them came ‘he improved wick, writes a “Manchester Guardian” correspondent. Instead of the wick restiim in the spout, which was never satisfactory, thev were encased in tightlv fitting metal tubes, in very much the same way as the present-day lanins are made. Indeed, several examples which exist to-dav show that double and even treble wicks were invented. The flame was steadier and the oil used was far less odoriferous Pewter lamps continued in favour for many years, and were of verv small dimensions. Some were onlv two inches in height, although double and treble wick lamps usually stood about seven inches from the table. It was a long time after this that gas was invented, followed by electrical lighting. When thev were first installed many were the misgivings, but there are few people who would willingly go back now to the crude types of lighting suffered by our ancestors.