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A Brief History of
Lighting in The U.S.
This illustration
shows some (but not all) common styles of Window & Door Woodwork (with
cross sections of uprights shown beneath each upright).
You may recognize a
woodwork treatment similar to yours, and if the age and style description sound
right, certain lighting styles were originally installed that matched the
architectural style. There were some eclectic crystal and leafy motifs that
transcended the styles of the period, so don't feel compelled to match styles
precisely, but use this only as a guide.
a.
Federal 1700-1810: This
is the style of most of our founding fathers' architecture, including many early
public buildings, Colonial style homes and most plantations, and the style has
undergone many revivals right up to modern home building. The original lighting
consisted of real candle fixtures, candle chandeliers, candelabras, candle
lanterns, various candle hurricane lamps and candlesticks, and toward 1800, oil
lamps and whale oil lamps. Many of the fixtures were made of tin or iron,
sometimes combined with wood, and looked primitive, while others were crafted in
pewter, brass and silver, and looked elegant. These lights were hand made and led
to the typical "Colonial Style" light fixture that we see so much of
today, typified by "S" curved arms and a central hanging oversized ball
shape.
Tip:
There's been so much reproduction of Colonial fixtures, that unless you can find
evidence of hand crafting and definite wax residue, you're probably dealing with a
repro even though it still may be very old (but not older than 1880 if it was
originally made for electric light bulbs).
b.
Aesthetic Eastlake/Italianate Victorian 1860-1885:
This style was named after an American furniture
maker who used basic geometric designs, parallel groove carving, "spoon"
carving (looks like leaves carved out of a flat surface by a sharpened spoon), and
burled veneer highlights. The Italianate period in Victorian lighting and
architecture used classic motifs such as urns, soldiers, knights, coats-of-arms,
maidens in togas, hunters and all types of animals. Lighting included kerosene and
oil fixtures and lamps, and gas lighting. The ceiling and wall fixtures were made
of iron, spelter or "pot metal", brass, and "red brass" (more
copper). Lamps were constructed of all those elements plus glass, bronze, marble,
slate, granite and onyx, and many brass items were plated with nickel. Examples
from this period are hard to come by, and you can generally count on outstanding
metal work and styling, great heft and balance, and exceptional attention to
detail.
Tip:
Any electric wiring of these pieces would have been added (look for drilled holes
that shouldn't be there - careless drilling seriously lowers the value).
c.
Eastlake Victorian 1870-1900:
Basically the same styling as above, Eastlake Victorian exemplifies simpler and
lighter construction and design. This lighting consisted of kerosene and oil, gas,
and combination gas & electric fixtures. Hanging or wall mounted kerosene
fixtures were cast-iron or brass, while the gas and gas/electric combination
fixtures were almost always made of brass. Some of the best intricately etched and
cut glass shades were crafted for these fixtures and many used hanging crystal
decoration.
Tip: Many
farm homes and small town homes were built exhibiting the Eastlake style during
this period, as well as many city dwellings. Look for gas pipes built into the
walls (wall sconces were usually mounted at shoulder height) if you're in a city
or a small town near a navigable river, indicating original gas lighting. Early
wiring near the pipes indicate original gas/electric combination lighting. In
rural Eastlake styled homes, a lack of gas pipes in the walls (even if it looks
like electric wires were installed early) indicates that your original lighting
was kerosene.
d.
Victorian 1880-1915:
Victorianna is commonly (and unjustly) thought of as an excess of curvy, lacy,
embellished elements, making tedious dusting problems, and this may hold true for
the light fixtures and lamps of the period. Certainly, some of the most graceful,
elegant, beautifully detailed yet functional pieces ever created, were crafted in
this period. Encompassing the sinewy lines of the Art Nouveau movement and the
geometric balance of the Eastlake influence, Victorian styling remains popular,
even in modern homes. This period covers kerosene and oil, gas, gas/electric
combination, and electric lighting. Mostly made of brass, some examples of
fixtures made of iron can be found.
Tip: The
first gas fixtures were modeled after kerosene fixtures. The first electric
fixtures were modeled after gas fixtures. No (or almost no) Victorian styled gas,
or gas/electric combination, or electric fixtures hung from a chain. Look only for
fixtures that connect all the way to the light source by tubing of some sort, if
you want Victorian styling.
Tip:
Gas was meant to burn upward (at about one candlelight), with or without a glass
shade, with an open flame. In 1888 Wellsbach invented a way to burn gas downward
through a mantel, increasing illumination greatly. Edison perfected his
incandescent bulb in 1880, and builders around the country began installing wire
in homes for lighting about 1900 even though it would be years before electricity
would reach that location. Gas/electric combination lighting would continue to be
installed in new homes until about 1920 because electricity would have outages of
a month at a time, and gas provided alternative lighting.
e.
Georgian Revival 1905-1930:
This is actually an earlier style of architecture, but it had a widespread revival
in the U.S. during this period. The Georgian style is important for lighting
history because most of the fine quality "Art Glass" artisans developed
lighting for this style. Quezel, Steuben, Tiffany, Handel, Pairpoint and others
made wonderful glass for electric lighting and lamps, which became the models for
lighting companies to emulate. Much of the "Art Deco" styled fixtures
were developed from 1920 - 1930 as less expensive replacement electric lighting
for the dangerous gas lighting. These were chain hung electric fixtures, sometimes
illuminating with unshaded bulbs (they were the latest technology and they were so
pretty!), but mostly with glass shaded bulbs.
Tip:
Around 1915 the cloth covered stranded electric wire was perfected, allowing
exposed wires to be strung through a chain, giving rise to a preponderance of
chain hung light fixtures. Around 1920, word was out that gas lighting was
inherently dangerous and too many homes were burning down, and homeowners should
remove their gas lighting and give the safer new-fangled electric lights a chance,
even though electricity was probably just a fad. Homeowners across the land heeded
this advice, tossing their Victorian gas and gas/electric combination fixtures in
favor of chain hung Deco fixtures. So today we have generations believing that
their 1928 electric Deco fixture was original to their 1905 home because it was
there even before they were born.
f.
Arts & Crafts (Craftsman) 1905-1935: Frank
Lloyd Wright began developing the Prairie School architecture in 1912, but he was
pre-dated by about seven years by others developing the "Arts &
Crafts" or "Craftsman" or "Mission" style. The style is
typified by austerely straight lines forming squares and rectangles, with woodwork
mostly in oak. Light fixtures were made for gas/electric combination and electric
use, mostly in brass or iron, reflecting Mission styling with the use of square
brass tubing and square glass shades. Stained glass table lamps were fashioned
with square oak frames and square oak bases. Hammered iron and copper in basic
shapes on heavy chains made up a class of "Craftsman" styled fixtures
for this architectural style. This is one style where it is magically satisfying
to match Arts & Crafts fixtures with Arts & Crafts settings.
Tip:
Many of the "Art Glass" artisans also worked in the Arts & Crafts
style, and it may be worth your time to search for exceptional designs in this
style. Mission reproductions are being produced today, with masterful quality, at
about the same price as restored antique fixtures.
NOTE:
There are many notable architectural styles that I have not included in this
history, mostly because of space. Ones that you should be aware of are: the
English Tudor style and the Spanish style. Both of these make generous use of
stucco elements, sometimes with archways instead of door woodwork, and many of the
"Castle" looking light fixtures of the 1920s and 1930s and the earlier
"Craftsman" fixtures seem to go well in this setting. These fixtures can
be recognized by their hammered finish look and heavy iron feel. Heavy chains and
heraldry embellishments are common for these electric chain hung fixtures.
Guide to Lighting Dates
Candles: 1620-1850; Oil: 1780-1930; Kerosene: 1850-1930; Gas: 1820
(piped-1850)-1920; Gas/Electric Combination: 1880-1920; Electric: 1880-Present. |