Glass Oil Lamp

19" x 4" x 4"

Take a step back in time with this beautiful late 19th-century oil lamp. The vertical wick lamp, originally designed to burn whale oil, became common throughout Canada in the 19th century with the invention of kerosene and paraffin oils that were easier to produce and becoming increasingly affordable. The lamp is made of glass and features a traditionally tall chimney and a flattened globe-like font for the wick. The lamp sits on a square glass pedestal, and a cylindrical stem with an elegant, simple design of sinuous lines and leaves, accentuated by a pearl-like border at the head and foot of the stem. A small metal arm protrudes from the brass burner, this is known as the thumbwheel and is used to raise and lower the wick. It features the inscription “RISDON MFG CC DANBURY, CT P&A MADE IN USA.” This is likely the maker’s mark for the Plume and Atwood Manufacturing Company, located in Danbury Connecticut, USA and established in the late 1800s. Plume and Atwood manufactured kerosene oil lamps, electrical lighting, and individual parts, so while the brass burner is P&A, the oil lamp itself may not have been produced by the same company. 

At this time in history, the Canadian Pacific Railway was incorporated in 1881. The CPR was formed to unite Canada from coast to coast (stretching over 20, 000 kilometres) and played a key role in the promotion of tourism.