This Davy-style safety lamp was made by the Hughes Brothers of Scranton, Pennsylvania during the late 19th or early 20th century. The lamp is called a safety lamp because it can be used safely in the presence of flammable gas. The lamp has a domed metal top that bears the inscription “ALDEN COAL CO.” It is similar in style to the flame safety lamp developed by Sir Humphry Davy in 1815. Davy discovered that surrounding the flame with a fine wire gauze would cool the flame to such an extent that it could not ignite the flammable gas surrounding the lamp. The lamp was used by the Alden Coal Company during the early 20th century, and presented to Grant Wheat by the Alden Coal Company in 1920.
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