The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1896-01-18
EVOLUTION OF THE FOOrLIaHTS
Story Of tho Advance from TaiI0w TO
Elcctricity-ilow the Candle Snuffer Be.
came On Electylc ian In EOnr Decades.

| u
Story Of tho Advance from Tail0w to
| Eicctrieity- How the Candle Snuffer Be.
came an electrician In Fonr Decades.
In the days Of the Elizabethan thea
ter the performances took place In the
open and began ut 3 p. M, so the arti-
| hctal light was rarely required. Sunset
and sunrise. moonlight and starlight,
high noon and midnight existed only in
the vivid imagination Of the spectators.
who must. In those days, have found
much education. for their fancy and
inspiration for their sympathies In
theater-gOtng, which patrons of today
are relieved of by the cleverness Of stage
managers and electricians and painters,
says the Boston Herald. The first arti
fetal light upon the stage was furnished
by two large branches Of lights. one ON
either side of the stage. These branches
of light Obstructed the view Of the audi
tors and they were finally replaced by
small circular wooden frames. fitted
with candles. These hoops Of light
Were suspended from the proscenium
the actors and the orchestra. There
Were usually eight hoops OF candles,
four on either side of the stage, and
these were OF wax or tallow. according
to the managers purse The body of
the house was lighted by "cressets or
large open lanthorns, nearly as large as
those In the poop of a ship" An anus
ing incident in which one OF these hoops
of candles Is employed ia related by
Richard jenkins, In his memoirs of
the Bristol Stage" One Winston, a
mocic actor, who would play tragedy at
times, was doing Richard Ill.," when,
in tiourishing his sword In calling for
"a horse. IA horse" he accidentally cut
the rope that held up the illuminating
arch, and, as he lodged. II descended
fairly and squarely around his neck. to
his great discomfort and the great de-
light Of the audience. Theater-goers in
those days Were not jot different from
theater-goers Of today. and an accident
was. then as now, always productive OF
a peal of uproarious laughter. Still, 1t
must have been funny to see Catesby
struggling to relieve his monarch Of
that embarrassing position before the
little affair at Tewkesbury could be set
tied.
--:ll:-.
One of the first managers to use foot
lights was Garrick, who introduced vari-
Gus improvements into Drury Lane,
London. among them, In 1856. row OF
footlights. Candles were used for that
purpose. but were soon replaced by oil,
footlights being then known as "the
float and consisting of one long tank
OF OF, with a series Of wicks. With the
disappearance OF the oil lamp. which
served to illuminate the theater far into
the nineteenth century. disappeared
also from the playhouse character
who up to then was an institutiOn-the
"candle Snuffer." or, as he was called
in Paris. le moucheur de chandelier
This party'S duty was to watch the
lights and walk right on to the stage at
any time during the performance. to
snuff the candles as they needed 1t. In
due course of evolution the candle
snuffer" became the tender Of lamps,
then the gas man. and finally the elec
trician. In his hour, the candle-snuffer
was a favorite butt for the humor of
the audience. He was pelted II fancy
seized 1t; he was guyed and scoffed at.
That humor of the audience exists to-
day, although the modern method Of
setting and resetting the stage and
changing the scenes has largely re-
moved the opportunity. We all re-
member the days when stages had deep
aprons and the queer looking men and
boys always came in front to take UP
or put down the carpets between the
acts, or to sweep up torn paper or a
snowstorm with which q previous act
had Uttered the stage; or in the days
before dark changes, how the same
man brought on or carried off chairs and
tables to the delight Of the small boy
IL. the gallery or the big one down stairs.
--:I.--
1t Is q little uncertain just when gas
was first introduced into the theater. 1t
first came out In London, some time
during 1918. when NJ. de la Forte was
sent from Paris to London to investi
gate the effects Of the use of hydrogen
gas, as applied to lighting the stage.
His report was SO favorable that after
some experiments, on February 26, 1922,
gas was successfully introduced In the
opera house. Paris. BY curious coin
cidence. the first opera lighted by 1t
was Aladdin" a new and posthumous
quickly followed by all of the other
Paris theatres. Today the work Of
lighting the theater Is q work of art as
we'll as mechanical ingenuity, and,
while the great master of that effect has
gained much In America In the way of
aids to carry on his ideas, Henry Irv-
Ing has been studied, but hardly EMU
lated, by American managers many Of
whom still secure brilliant effects with
out reason and startling results that
scorn nature. Today, electricity is
used in nearly all theaters, and foot.
lights are supplemented with side |
lights. meant to do away, If possible
which were introduced to give to the |
scene a natural glow by coming from |
the right direction, have today, from
one line across the top of the proscen-
ium arch. increased to six, so that the |
light can be directed on any part of |
the scene. or shed completely over it. |
The modern lighting is so complicated |
that the switchboard, with its dozen |
regulators. capable of doing marvels in |
the way of lighting. is the most expen- |
sive. elaborate and interesting feature |
OF the world behind the scenes. The |
candle snuffer Of the sixteenth century |
has become the electrician of the nine |
teenth, and the end is not yet.
BENEFACTOR OF HIS SPECIES.