Victorian Era Gas Lighting

Cast metal chandelier fixture 1930s.

Victorian era gas lighting.

Likewise for electric lighting which began in 1879 when thomas edison perfected the commercial incandescent lamp and more important a system to power it. The impure gas of the victorian era also gave off a nasty smell blackened walls and ceilings and tarnished metal due to the sulphuric acid given off. Despite its many drawbacks gas remained the most popular form of lighting until the launch of the national grid in the 1930s and the history of lighting would be much duller without it. Many victorian gas lanterns are still used but their gas mantels have now been replaced and converted to use electricity.

After candlelight one can only imagine how magical gas lighting must have appeared in the 19th century. Invented by carl aur von wesbach in 1885 the incandescent mantle was the last major breakthrough in oil and gas lighting of the period before both succumbed to electric lighting. The gas mantle on the other hand provides a much larger three dimensional surface and is far more effective as a result. Gas lighting was the posh pretty boy poster child of victorian interior lighting but its technology and expense restricted its use to wealthy urban homes and public places.

It is hard for us to imagine a town or city without street lights or even the glow of electric lights from windows. The use of electricity for the purpose of lighting truly began with a british engineer named frederick hale holmes who in 1846 patented an electric arc lamp and with michael faraday pioneered the electrical illumination of. It was natural gas but it was manufactured by heating coal in an oven that was sealed to keep oxygen out. The victorians used mostly coal gas for their gaslights which was a cocktail of hydrogen sulfur methane and carbon monoxide.

The light is produced either directly by the flame generally by using special mixes of illuminating gas to increase brightness or indirectly with other components such as the gas mantle or the limelight with the. Vtg deco era hanging victorian riddle co. Victorian london lighting gas. Antique victorian 6 light chandelier brass bronze metal spanish style gold color.

The gas that we used to light our spaces during the gaslight era was coal gas. Then the gas was purified filtered pressurized and piped to our homes businesses and street lights. Gas lighting is production of artificial light from combustion of a gaseous fuel such as hydrogen methane carbon monoxide propane butane acetylene ethylene or natural gas. Gas lights and the lamplighters of london are for many of us synonymous with the swirling fogs of the victorian city and the soft green lights emanating from the gloom.

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