Questions and Answers (Q&A) Forgotten Chicago Forum
Have a question about a specific element in Chicago's history? Ask Away!
House Lighting...
Posted by:
amybizzarri
()
Date: August 11, 2014 12:58PM
How did people light their homes in Chicago in the 1800's??? Gas lighting for the rich?? Lanterns for the poor? Would love to see some examples of typical Chicago light fixtures/lanterns. Can anyone point me to a resource on this?
Re: House Lighting...
Posted by:
gman
()
Date: August 11, 2014 09:38PM
http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/504.html
Re: House Lighting...
Posted by:
nordsider
()
Date: August 11, 2014 11:59PM
Some examples of fixtures from the National Park Service - Gaslighting in America:
http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/hcrs/myers/contents.htm
Also, at Photographs from The Chicago Daily News 1902-1933
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/ndlpcoop/ichihtml/
search: " gas lighting "
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/12/2014 10:06AM by nordsider.
http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/hcrs/myers/contents.htm
Also, at Photographs from The Chicago Daily News 1902-1933
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/ndlpcoop/ichihtml/
search: " gas lighting "
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/12/2014 10:06AM by nordsider.
Re: House Lighting...
Posted by:
WayOutWardell
()
Date: August 12, 2014 12:47AM
For houses that had both electric and gas for lighting, there were fixtures which would accommodate both, like this:
[url=http://www.genuineantiquelighting.net/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=LP1&Product_Code=1822ge&Category_Code=]Gas/Electric 2+2 Combo Fixture[/url]
The upward fixtures were the gas ones, the downward fixtures were electric.
Keep in mind that electric lights of that era were still very dim due to the limitations of the carbon-filament bulb (the tungsten-filament bulb, which was brighter, was invented in 1912), so gas was still the preferred source for brightness and reliability.
[url=http://www.genuineantiquelighting.net/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=LP1&Product_Code=1822ge&Category_Code=]Gas/Electric 2+2 Combo Fixture[/url]
The upward fixtures were the gas ones, the downward fixtures were electric.
Keep in mind that electric lights of that era were still very dim due to the limitations of the carbon-filament bulb (the tungsten-filament bulb, which was brighter, was invented in 1912), so gas was still the preferred source for brightness and reliability.
