IMPROVEMENTS IN LAMPS AND CANDLESTICKS
Year: 1850

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
GEDGE, of Wellington Street, Strand, in the County of Middlesex, Patent
Agent, send greeting.
.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of
Great Britain and Ireland, bearing date at Westminster, the Twenty-third
day of March, in the thirteenth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her
heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said John Gedge, my
exors, admors, and assigns, Her especial license, full power and authority;
that I, the said John Gedge, my exors, admors, and assigns, and such others
that I, the said John Gedge, my exors, admors, and assigns, should at any
time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times during
the term of years therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use,
exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-
Tweed, the Islands of Guernsey, Jersey, Alderney, Sark, and Man, and ini
all Her said Majesty's Colonies and Plantations abroad, the Invention coni-
municated to me by a certain Foreigner residing abroad, of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
LAMPS AND CANDLESTICKS;" in which said Letters Patent is contained a
proviso that I, the said John Gedge, should particularly describe and ascertain
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, to be enrolled

page_text: in Her Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar months next
and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent, as in and by the
same, reference being had thereto, will more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the
said John Gedge, do hereby declare that the nature of the said Invention,
and the manner in which the same is to be performed and carried into practical
effect, is fully described and ascertained in and by the following statement
thereof, and by reference to the Sheet of Illustrative Drawings hereunto
annexed, and forming part of this my Specification, and to the numeral figures
and letters marked upon the said Drawings.
The Invention comprises,-
Firstly, a novel description of reading lamp or candlestick, which may be
held on the thumb, so that the light may be cast on the book or paper, and
the eyes of the reader protected from the light.
Secondly, improvements in those means by which the time can be measured
and ascertained by night in sick chambers, nurseries, or other places, or
wherever the absence of a glare of light or the ticking of a timepiece is
desirable.
Thirdly, an improved candle lamp, wherein the Argand principle is applied
to a candlestick or lamp burning tallow or other fatty congealed substance,
and by which the brilliancy of the flame is increased without a much greater
consumption of tallow, and, therefore, an economy and purity obtained in the
production of light.
Fourthly, certain improvements in those lamps usually termed spirit lamps,
whereby a greater degree of safety is ensured, and a more regulated supply of
spirit for combustion obtained.
'
Fifthly, improvements in feeding the cottons of oil lamps with oil for
combustion, and improvements in fixing, moving, and cleaning said cottons
and their wicks.
Sixthly, a mode of bringing the candle tube, shewn at Figure 7 of the
Drawings, or any other candle tube made upon the principle, or nearly so, of
Palmer's expired patent candle tube, into more universal use, by fixing them
into the common candlestick, or in candelabra, as herein-after described.
In respect to the first improvement, I make a candlestick or candle lamp,
using (a wax or other candle, or Palmer's principle, or any appropriate tube)
in such manner and form that it shall be capable of being held on the thumb.
of the hand, Figures 1, 2, and 3. By passing the ring a over the thumb, the
ring round the candlestick to which the ring a is fixed is made to slide
upwards and downwards as desired, but not too easily, and allowing the

page_text: recessed portion 6 to rest against the ball of the thumb (the recess or recesses
may be made to suit either the right or left hand, or both, but the left is
considered preferable); and this recess must be so fashioned out of the foot of
the candlestick as to fit the usual formation of the thumb ball. In order to
protect the eyes from the glare of the flame a shade c, which may be made of
any dimension or material,-metal, silk, paper, or other, and, if the former,
may be silvered, or otherwise made to reflect or cast the light more strongly
on the paper or book, and so fitted in a tube d as to allow its being raised or
depressed to a level with the light of the candle; or, in case of using Palmer's
late patent or other similar candlestick, the shade may be permanently fixed
at any suitable portion of the casing, allowing, nevertheless, of its being moved
from side to side; and in this latter provision may be made for a pointed
extinguisher e to receive the flame or extinguish the candle. I need not
dwell upon the mode of making the candlestick or lamp, as all manufacturers
will at once see in what the improvements consist, and that they will apply to
almost any description of common hand candlestick or lamp.
Figure 1 in the annexed Drawing represents an ordinary candlestick with
my improvements; Figure 2 a candle lamp on Palmer's principle, with said
improvements; and Figure 3 a vertical section of Figure 2.
Figures 4, 5, 6, illustrate the second portion of my improvements, intended
to shew the hours in sick chambers, nurseries, or wherever desired, by night,
shewing the hour by the consumption of the candle. Hitherto this object has
been partially but very imperfectly achieved, it being necessary to light the
candle at a given hour. A dart or index is fixed on the top of the coiled
spring, "Palmer's-tube," is here shewn, and is to rise with the spring during
the consumption of the candle through a perpendicular slit cut in the tube,
the figured standard B being fixed on the same base as the lamp; but it is
evident this action is very limited, and my first improvement consists in
constructing the figured standard of an endless web W, on which the hours
are painted. Figure 5 is a side view of my. new standard. A, A, is a plate
of metal of the determinate width, at the top and bottom of which two
openings B, B, are made, in which two small rollers are placed, which turn
by a small screw 8. The hours are painted on an endless band of prepared
canvas or other material, which is fixed in position. Its action will be readily
understood. Supposing the lamp to be extinguished at 4 o'clock in the
morning, and it was desired to set the lamp at relighting at, say, 11 o'clock,
then the web, which rested with the figure against the pointer, must be
turned, by means of the thumb screw, until the hour of 11 is opposite the hand,
and similarly for any other hour or period of time. Considering, however, that

page_text: the perpendicular opening in the tube of the lamp is unsightly and objectionable,
I avoid the opening by attaching to the under side of the spring, whether the
coiled spring or a vulcanized india-rubber or other spring, a length of cat-gut
or of Newall's finest wire cord, which passes through the base of the lamp and
is carried over the top of the upright figure stand, in which a groove is cast,
the pointer travelling in it, the other end of the gut or string being attached
to it, and concealed from sight by being carried up between the endless band.
Another method of constructing a time clock is shewn at Figure 6. In this
construction the hours are shewn by means of an opaque or transparent dial
figured in the ordinary way (by following the dotted lines at said Figure, it
will be perceived that I attach a chain c under the disc D, which is passed
over a small pulley and up through the pillar of the lamp P, where it is
wound round the band. The candle or lamp in burning carries the chain up
with it, which in unwinding from the barrel B carries the hour hand round
with it. A minute hand may upon this principle be added if thought desirable.
The description of dial I find the best is a glass one with opaque figures, so
as not to obstruct the light; but when little light is desirable the dial may be
made opaque and the figures transparent. The third description of improve-
ments is shewn at Figure 7 of the annexed Drawing, and will be easily
understood by the following description and reference to the Diagram, which
shews a vertical section drawn to a geometrical scale of an improved candle
lamp, in which the great desideratum of supplying a current of air to the inner
portion of the flame on the Argand principle is effected. a, a, is the tubular
candle holder; b, b, the stand; c, c, the spring; and h, h, the glass holder, as
in the ordinary lamps at present in use; e, e, the candle perforated throughout
its entire length to admit of the central cylindrical tube f, f, passing through
it for the purpose of supplying a current of air to the centre of the flame of
the wicks, which are placed at equal distances, varying according to their
number round its inner periphery. This tube may be made fluted so as to
allow the wicks to be embedded in the flutes if desired, but in such case the
mould for the candle must be made to correspond with the flutes; the greater
the number of wicks and the thinner or less substantial should they be made.
The current of air is obtained by means of a series of circular holes in the
upper portion and carried round the base, some of which are shewn at 9, 9, 9.
The supply to the outer portion of the flame is carried through perforations
d, d, in the disc of the glass holder into the cylindrical chamber i, i, formed
between the outer conical cap k, k, and inner one m, m, and also by means of
parallel rows of circular perforations 0, 0, 0, carried round the outer cap, the
supply to which is furnishd by an outer series of perforations p, p, in the disc

page_text: of the glass holder h, h; a free current is thus supplied both between the two.
caps and between the glass and the head of the lamp. The candle lifter or
disc r, r; is perforated to allow of the passage of the tube f, f, and is fasteneḍ
to the spring in the usual way. By this arrangement a free current is-
established within as well as without the flame of the candle, and the advan-
tage obtained is the securing a free supply of oxygen to the interior as well
as the exterior of the flame, by a current of air made to ascend through the
centre of the candle and lamp, thereby insuring more perfect combustion and
greater brilliancy of light than can be obtained by any other arrangement,
which only provides an outward supply of the vital principle to the burner. I
would remark that an inner tube may be made of smaller capacity than the
one here shewn, to allow the air to pass up more freely, if desirable, and to.
prevent the accidental overflow of grease from clogging the tubular passage:.
Figures 8, 9, and 10. Figure 8 is a vertical section of part of an im
proved table lamp, in which I represents the body of the lamp, and I its cap.
The spirit is first raised by the capillary attraction of a wick A, made of fire-
clay, to a chamber B, raised above the circumference of the burner E, E, of
which it forms the centre; the spirit being heated in this chamber becomes
converted into vapour or gas, which is allowed to diffuse itself in the equalizing
chamber D under the burner by means of the circular stopcock c, the supply.
to which is regulated by the screw F. G is the glass holder. The advantage-
derived from this combination is the increase of temperature communicated to.
the spirit before it reaches its exit at the mouth of the burner, and the con
sequent more rapid evolution of gas or vapour. The application of this.
arrangement in the case of flat burners is shewn in the vertical section,
Figure 10, and a further application to a circular burner is added in the
vertical section, Figure 9, in both of which similar letters designate similar
parts. The spirit or oil is supplied at a, a small chamber with adapting screw
communicating with a tubular conduit b, b, placed either within the flame of
the burner, as in Figure 9, or in its immediate vicinity, as in Figure 10, so as
to allow of its being converted into vapour or gas, before it reaches the mouth
of the burner f. C is the supply regulator, which simply consists of a conical.
plug and aperture, which may be raised or depressed by means of an adjusting.
thumb screw p, s.
In the case of the flat burner, Figure 10, a second regu-
lator e is made to adjust the flame of the jet introduced at f, which coming in
contact with b is formed into a flat flame similar to that of a bat-wing. or.
fish-tail burner.
I now proceed. to describe the improvements illustrated in. the annexed-

page_text: Drawing at Figures 11, 12, 13, and 14. The object of these improvements
is principally the obtainment of a constant and regular supply of oil to the
burner to effect a gradual ascending motion of the cotton, and to obviate the
necessity of removing the glass for cleansing or snuffing the wick.
Figure 11 is a section of a lamp constructed upon the cylindrical principle,
with the burner compensating apparatus supplied. The oil or fluid is raised
to the burner by means of a piston. A is the oil cylinder; B the piston fitted
to the tubular rod C, which passes through a stuffing box in the top of the
cylinder, and terminated by a cross head D; E, the helical spring resting
upon the top of the cylinder, and abutting against the cross head D, by which
it elevates the piston, and forces the oil through the tube F (Figure 12).
Figure 12 is an enlarged view of the burner compensating apparatus.
E is the spring, one end of which is fastened to the top of the cylinder and
the other to the wheel H, which is free to rotate under the cross head D,
which is dotted in; through this cross head the spindle of the pinion I works.
When the spring is compressed, this reactive portion of it elevates the cross
head, and with it the pinion J, which is made to rotate by the rack Q as it is
forced along it. Through the rack R (for compressing the spring) the
shaft L passes, by which the motion is transmitted from the pinion S to the
wheel H by means of the bevilled wheels M and pinion I; thus the tension
of the spring is always the same, for, as it elongates the power, the power
is increased by its being elongated, or lessened as it is compressed; or,
in other words, it is unwound as it is compressed, and wound up as it
lengthens, by the means of the rotatory motion it receives from the wheel H.
Figure 18 is a section of the diaphragm of a lamp with part of the casing
removed. A, A, are two chambers formed by the diaphragm for containing
the supply of oil and receiving the overflow successively. The diaphragm B
may be made of any impervious flexible material, affixed to which is a metal
plate B.
C is a stuffing box, through which the axis D of the plate passes;
fastened to the top of this is an arm, with a slot in it for the pin F to slide in.
One end of the spring G is fastened to this pin, and the other to the wheel H,
which turns loosely upon the axis D, and is turned for the purpose of winding
up the spring by the endless screw I and handle J. The union joints K, K,
connect the burner with the lamp, and serve also as valves, as shewn at K.
L is a cup into which it flows to the chambers A, A', through the valves K, K',
and tubes A, A: M is a helical spring for elevating the cotton wick upon
its holder N as it is consumed. The orifices of the tubes A, A', are at O, O,
from which the burner is supplied, and into which the overflow is received

page_text: alternatively. These orifices being below the top of the burner, the oil cannot
run over the sides of it, consequently the top of the burner become heated, and
combustion carried on more perfectly than in any other lamp. Another very
important feature in this burner is that the oil does not sink in it while the
lamp is being wound up: The mode of operation is as follows:-One of the
valves is opened at K', a chamber is then filled with oil, and the valve
closed, as at K; the other chamber is then filled in the same manner. If there
is a wick, one is then put upon the holder N, and pushed to the bottom of the
burner; the inverted conical ring P is then screwed upon the top of the
burner. This conical ring is for the purpose of spreading the carbonized part
of the wick out of the flame, so that the wick may be consumed as it becomes
carbonized, consequently this lamp will require no attention, for the spring
will raise the wick, and the spreader will cause it to be consumed as raised.
When the lamp is wound up, which is done after the chambers are filled and
the wick fixed, as shewn in the Drawings, the spring G acts upon the arm E,
the pressure of which is communicated to the diaphragm by its axis; 'thus
the pressure of the diaphragm forces the oil from the chamber which is con-
tracting to the burner through its tubes. An increase of power in the
spring is compensated for by increase of leverage, so that a uniform supply is
kept up.
In reference to the sixth improvement, I take the tube, Figure 7, or any
other, and fitting to the heel or lower end thereof a ring of the width required,
composed of thin leather, vulcanized india rubber, or other suitable material,
which must adhere to the tube with sufficient firmness to continue thereon
when the tube shall be cleaned, or pressed into a socket. I propose to
enamel these tubes in most instances, so that they may exactly resemble a
wax candle, by inserting therein a Palmer's or other candle, and using a
screw thread at the upper end of the tube and interior of the cone, instead of
the bayonet joint usually used in candle tubes, to secure the candle; when
inserted no projection will appear, and their likeness to a wax candle will be
secured. Into the socket of a candlestick, or the sockets of candelabra, the
said tube is inserted and is firmly supported by the elastic or leather plugging.
The gain in beauty and uniformity will be very great, as at all periods of
combustion the candles will appear of an uniform length, and also the
economy will be considerable, because by the use of common candlesticks
for table or chamber, furnished with these tubes, the expence of the
remaining portion of the lamp will be saved.
Having now described the nature of the said Invention communicated to
me, and the means by which the same is to be carried into practical effect,

page_text: it is desirable to renounce any claim to an exclusive right to any of the parts
taken per se, or by themselves, or any of the materials employed in the
construction of the various candlesticks and lamps, or portions thereof, shewn
in the annexed Drawing, and forming part of this my Spécification. And I
desire it to be distinctly understood that no such claim is made, nor do I
confine myself to the exact sizes or formations of parts or whole shewn in the
Drawings, or to such scale of parts, as it must be evident that modifications and
alterations therein must be made to suit various sizes and description of lamps
and candlesticks; and that such deviations may be made without departing
from the principle of the improvements herein-before described and shewn
in the annexed Drawings aforesaid. But what I do claim, and which
entitles me to the exclusive right set forth in the herein part recited. Letters
Patent,―
Firstly, the ring a, the recess b, and shade c, shewn in combination with a
common candlestick or lamp at Figures 1, 2, 3, of the annexed Drawing, and
herein before fully described.
Secondly, the combinations as shewn at Figures 4, 5, 6, by which an
accurate knowledge of the lapse of time is obtained during the consumption
of a candle fixed in a tube, as herein-before fully described.
Thirdly, the adaptation of the principle discovered by Aimé Argand in
1782, and by him applied to oil lamps, and subsequently to spirit and gas
lamps, and burners to the candle lamp or candle, by the combination and
means employed and shewn at Figure 7 of the Drawing, and herein-before
particularly set forth and described.
Fourthly, the improvements as demonstrated and shewn in the Drawing at
Figures 8, 9, 10, and herein-before fully described, whereby a greater, safer,
and better regulated supply of spirit for combustion is secured for spirit
lamps.
if hly, the improvements in obtaining a better regulated supply of oil to
oil lamps, as shewn at Figures 11, 12, 13, and 14, and herein-before fully
described.
Sixthly, the means pointed out and hercin described, of bringing the
candles enclosed in tubes and intended to be inserted into the candlesticks or
candelabra now used extensively and economically into general use.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Gedge, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Twentieth day of September, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty.
JOHN (L.S.) GEDGE.

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Twenty-first day of September,
in the year of our Lord 1850, the aforesaid John Gedge came before our
said Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification
aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained and specified, in form
above written. And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped according
to the tenor of the Statute made for that purpose.
Enrolled the Twenty-first day of September, in the year of our Lord
One thousand night hundred and fifty