Vigo County Historical Society

Historical Treasure Article

Historic Treasure of the Week - September 30, 1984
By Dorothy Frey

Miniature lamps had many uses

Miniature or night lamps are replicas of the oil lamps used before standard electric lights were available.

They were used for a number of purposes and are often referred to as "night lamps," to burn as a dim light after the regular lamps had been extinguished. They also made good lights for rooms hosting sick people, for the elderly or for children's rooms. Some people claim they were used as courting lamps...in the parlor when the young lady of the house had a caller. These small beautiful lamps would assuredly lend an aura of charm and romance. They may also have been salesmen's samples to show prospective buyers what the standard size lamp looked like. Comparatively few of the miniatures have larger counterparts, so this theory may be unfounded.

The lamp pictured today is on display in the Historical Museum of the Wabash Valley. It is six and three-quarters inches tall with a shade that's six inches in diameter. It is made of milk glass with embossed, gilded designs. Some of the gilt is worn off. It has a small chimney of clear glass. The burner is marked "P. and A. Mfg. Co." It was made by Plume and Atwood Manufacturing Company, Pat. date 1877. These burners were manufactured well into the 1900s.

The milk glass' embossed shade rests on a ring that sits on the burner. The chimney protects the shade from the flame and also diffuses the light.

Researchers and collectors tell us the first miniatures were probably manufactured in 1825. Hundreds of designs and color variants were made over the years with many improvements and modifications. However, because they were so fragile, few survived.

This lamp burned kerosene. There are some discrepancies as to the exact date kerosene was patented, but we are sure it was widely used in the 1860s. Thomas Edison's invention of the incandescent light bulb in 1879 marked the beginning of the end of the kerosene lamp for practical lighting.

The Historical Museum of the Wabash Valley, 1411 S. Sixth St., is open from 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday through Friday.