Mining Lights and Hats - Oil-Wick Cap Lamps
 Oil-Wick Cap Lamp with Drip Ring |
The oil-wick lamp first came into use in Scotland around 1850, and remained in use until the 1920’s. Before oil-wick lamps were popularized, candles were the main source of illumination in the mine. The candles were set into spiked metal candle holders, and either hammered into the framing timbers or precariously attached to a miner’s hat. The design of oil-wick cap lamps were simple and consistent, an appropriation of the teapot style of lamps available at the time.
The lamps were usually made of brass, with a hinged lid over the font and a hook on the back to mount the lamp on a miner’s cap. The font contained a mix of fat and oil for fuel, which would be pulled through the wick to the top of the spout, where the lamp would be lit. Miner’s would use the cheapest type of fuel they could get their hands on, often using lard oil cut with kerosene that gave off an extremely smoky flame, irritating the miner’s eyes and leaving his face coated with soot. The collection of oil-wick lamps shows a variety of attachments that were made to the spout. A drip ring could be added to catch any oil falling from the wick, and a reflector could be attached in and attempt to direct the light to the miner’s work surface.
 Miner's wearing Oil-Wick Lamps, Consolidated Coal Co. No. 204, Jenkins, KY July 19, 1912 |
The oil-wick cap lamp held a variety of advantages over candles—the light burned brighter, lasted longer, and was easier to carry and wear. But the oil-wick cap lamp also had several drawbacks. The flame, while brighter than a candle’s, was much smokier, and the open flame of the oil-wick lamp could ignite the flammable gasses in mines resulting in deadly explosions. The threat of explosions prompted the development on the safety lamp for use in potentially combustible mines, and the invention of the carbide lamp generally phased out the use oil-wick lamps by the 1920s.
"Mining Lights and Hats - Oil-Wick Cap Lamps" showing 72 items.
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Miner’s Cap Lamp
- Description (Brief)
- This oil-wick cap lamp was made by an unknown maker during the second half of the 19th century. The oil-wick cap lamp was first invented in Scotland in 1850 and in use until the 1920’s. The font contained a mix of fat and oil for fuel, and a wick was inserted into the spout. The resulting flame was much brighter and more efficient than the candles it replaced. The hook enabled the lamp to be worn on a cap, or hooked onto any other suitable location.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- ID Number
- AG*MHI-MN-9573B
- catalog number
- MHI-MN-9573B
- accession number
- 282791
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Miner’s Cap Lamp
- Description (Brief)
- This oil-wick cap lamp was made by an unknown maker during the second half of the 19th century. The oil-wick cap lamp was first invented in Scotland in 1850 and in use until the 1920’s. The font contained a mix of fat and oil for fuel, and a wick was inserted into the spout. The resulting flame was much brighter and more efficient than the candles it replaced. The hook enabled the lamp to be worn on a cap, or hooked onto any other suitable location.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- ID Number
- AG*MHI-MN-9644
- catalog number
- MHI-MN-9644
- accession number
- 288161
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Miner’s Cap Lamp
- Description (Brief)
- This oil-wick cap lamp was made by an unknown maker during the second half of the 19th century. The oil-wick cap lamp was first invented in Scotland in 1850 and in use until the 1920’s. The font contained a mix of fat and oil for fuel, and a wick was inserted into the spout. The resulting flame was much brighter and more efficient than the candles it replaced. The hook enabled the lamp to be worn on a cap, or hooked onto any other suitable location.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- ID Number
- AG*MHI-MN-9657
- catalog number
- MHI-MN-9657
- accession number
- 292875
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Oil-Wick Lamp Patent Model
- Description (Brief)
- This oil-wick lamp is a patent model constructed by Edward Gough, of Allentown, Pennsylvania that received patent number 229,117 on June 22, 1880. In his patent filing, Gough claimed as his invention “an improvement in lamps with the combination of a cast-metal body or can with a neck, provided with studs, of the cast metal cover, having notches and interior annular groove” constructed to secure the top to the lamp. The chain is usually attached to the top so it wouldn’t get separated from its lamp.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- patent date
- 1880-06-22
- patentee
- Gough, Edward
- ID Number
- AG*MHI-MN-9742
- accession number
- 088881
- catalog number
- MHI-MN-9742
- patent number
- 229117
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Oil-Wick Miner’s Lamp Patent Model
- Description (Brief)
- This oil-wick lamp is a patent model constructed by James C. Smythe of Plymouth, Pennsylvania that received patent number 204,628 on June 4, 1878. In his patent filing, Smythe claimed as his invention “a miner's lamp divided into an upper and a lower chamber, the latter forming the oil-reservoir, and provided with a small wick to convey the oil to the upper chamber and to a large wick passing from said upper chamber through the neck or tube of the lamp.” The dual chamber allowed use of the lighter oils in miners' lamps, by preventing excessive flow of oil to the spout.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- patentee
- Smythe, James C.
- ID Number
- AG*MHI-MN-9743
- accession number
- 88881
- catalog number
- MHI-MN-9743
- patent number
- 204628
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Oil-Wick Miner’s Lamp Patent Model
- Description (Brief)
- This oil-wick lamp is a patent model constructed by W. G. Dowd of Scranton, Pennsylvania that received patent number 90,434, on May 25, 1869. The patent filing is for the wick raiser on this lamp seen on the outside of the spout. Dowd claimed as his invention “a wire bent over the outer edge of the wicktube with its outer portion sliding in the guide, and its inner portion bent to form an eye to which are hung the fork,” so as to raise the wick by the sliding of the wire.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- patent date
- 1869-05-25
- patentee
- Dowd, W. G.
- ID Number
- AG*MHI-MN-9744
- accession number
- 88881
- catalog number
- MHI-MN-9744
- patent number
- 090434
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Oil-Wick Miner’s Lamp Patent Model
- Description (Brief)
- This oil-wick lamp is a patent model constructed by William Seybold of McKeesport, Pennsylvania that received patent number 90,963 on June 8, 1869. Seybold claimed as his invention “extending the wick-tube upwards, within the lamp-chamber, nearly to the top of the lamp” and “extending the exterior portion of the wick-tube above the top of the lamp” in order to keep lighter oils from making their way up a normal spout due to the motions of a miner’s head.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- patentee
- Seybold, William
- ID Number
- AG*MHI-MN-9745
- accession number
- 088881
- catalog number
- MHI-MN-9745
- patent number
- 90963
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Oil-Wick Miner’s Lamp Patent Model
- Description (Brief)
- This oil-wick lamp is a patent model constructed by John Fleming of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania that received patent number 219,352 on July 24, 1879. Fleming claimed as his invention “a miner's lamp provided with a hard-metal bottom having a flange that supports the lower edge of the body of the lamp, and the flange bearing against the inner wall of the body.” Miner’s would strike the bottom of their lamps against a hard surface to raise and lower the wick, and this extra bottom prevented damage to the lamp’s body.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- patent date
- 1879-09-09
- patentee
- Fleming, John
- ID Number
- AG*MHI-MN-9747
- accession number
- 088881
- catalog number
- MHI-MN-9747
- patent number
- 219352
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Oil-Wick Miner’s Lamp Patent Model
- Description (Brief)
- This oil-wick lamp is a patent model constructed by John B. Deeds and William Mack of Terre Haute, Indiana that received patent number 281,846 on July 24, 1883. Deeds and Mack developed a lamp with an “oil tight lid.” The invention is described as “having its top or opening made slightly flaring, in combination with the hinged lid and the supplemental lid or disk with a packing of cork between them, and having holes therein opposite to each other, which communicate with a corresponding opening in the cork for the purpose of ventilation.”
- Location
- Currently not on view
- patent date
- 1883-07-04
- patentee
- Deeds, John B.
- Mack, William
- ID Number
- AG*MHI-MN-9748
- catalog number
- MHI-MN-9748
- accession number
- 88881
- patent number
- 281846
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Oil-Wick Miner’s Lamp Patent Model
- Description (Brief)
- This oil-wick lamp is a patent model constructed by John O. Davies, John O. Jones, and Timothy Thomas of Plymouth, Pennsylvania that received patent number 220,582 on October 14, 1879. The patent claims as its invention “a miner's lamp consisting of an outer shell or cup, having a wick-tube and main wick combined with an oil-reservoir adapted to fit within said outer shell or cup, and having a perforated screw-cap in its bottom through which a supplemental feeding-wick passes.” The lamp kept the oil in a separate interior container to help prevent combustion.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- patentee
- Davies, John O.
- Jones, John O.
- Thomas, Timothy
- ID Number
- AG*MHI-MN-9752
- catalog number
- MHI-MN-9752
- accession number
- 88881
- patent number
- 220582
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
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