IMPROVEMENTS IN GAS LAMPS. GLASSES, AND OTHER FITTINGS."
Year: 1861

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Edward Curtis Kemp, of Avon Place, Pershore
Road, Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Agent, for the Invention
of "IMPROVEMENTS IN GAS LAMPS. GLASSES, AND OTHER FITTINGS."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Edward Curtis Kemp
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 13th November 1861.
I, EDWARD CURTIS KEMP, of Avon Place, Pershore Road, Birmingham, in,
the County of Warwick, Agent, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN GAS LAMPS, GLASSES, AND OTHER FITTINGS,"
to be as follows:-
My improvements relate to gas lamps, their glasses, and tops. The first
part consists in constructing the framework or parts that retain the glass of a
hall lamp so that a single nut & screw at the top of each pillar or upright bar
thereof serves to unite the upper frame and the radial arms by which the lamp
is supported and suspended from the centre. To effect this I form the lower
glass frame with internal lugs, on which the glass rests, and into which the pillars
are fitted and fixed by screws, or otherwise. The upper glass frame has like
lugs, through which the upper ends of the pillars pass, & receive the radial
arms, thumb, & other nuts at top secure the whole together. I dispose the
pillars interior of the glass, which may be cylindrical or of other form desired.

page_text: Another improvement in these lamps consists in supporting them by a hook
& eye to the gas pipe, in such way that the lamp can be unhooked at pleasure
without interfering with the gas duct, which I continue by a small pipe passing
from the main supporting pipe down within the interior of the lamp. This I
make to jut out a little from the side of the main pipe before turning down,
in order to clear the hook and supporting part of the lamp which hangs con-
centrically with the main pipe.
The next part of my improvements relates to gas and other lamps & their
glasses or shades, and to the method of applying and fixing them to the
fittings; these glasses or shades are generally supported by a triangular piece
from the bottom, which throws a disagreeable shadow downwards. Now,
according to my Invention, I support them from the upper part; for this
purpose I make the glasses somewhat of the form of an inverted parabola or
bell shape, that is to say, with the large end uppermost; this is formed with a
lip, which is inserted within a ring fixed horizontally at the termination, and
on a level with the gas arm of the lamp or chandelier, or other fitting. The
glass rests on two lugs within the ring, and is inserted from below, and fixed
by means of a screw opposed to the two lugs. The gas is conducted by a
small pipe from the arm, and descends within the parabolic shade to a suitable
point; an opening is made in the bottom of the shade for the admission of
air. I further apply a top or cover according to my Invention, which
harmonizes with the contour of & completes the above form and arrangement
of shade. This cover consists, first, of a disc of metal, in which one or more
concentric steps are formed, one of which drop into and fits more or less
closely the upper opening of the glass; an opening is formed in the centre of
this disc, which serves to receive and sustain a fire-clay top, in which apertures
for the escape of the products of combustion from the shade are made, more
apertures may be made through the disc piece if necessary. This form of top
I also apply to ordinary lamp glasses and shades, in which I apply and affix.
the ornamental ring to the outer diameter of the disc piece; this may also be
the case in its application to the improved shade; or such ornamental ring. so
affixed to the disc may encircle & cover a plain ring supporting the shade.
By this arrangement of a stepped disc piece in combination with the fire-clay
top, no individual fitting of the top to the glasses is necessary, as is the case
with the ordinary tops of gas glasses & shades. These glasses, and the means.
of fixing them are equally well adapted for hall lamps or other single lights by
suspending the supporting ring from a central pendant pipe by suitable radial
arms, the gas pipe descending within the glass as before. The opening at
bottom of these glasses may be ornamented by an open metalwork or other

page_text: piece, to permit the entrance of the air. I surmount these single-light glasses
by a flat disc-like shade, which encloses more or less the upper part of the
glass. Glasses fitted and applied in this manner can be as readily removed
for cleaning or other purposes as an ordinary gas glass.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Edward Curtis Kemp in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 13th May 1862..
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, EDWARD
CURTIS KEMP, of Avon Place, Pershore Road, Birmingham, in the County of
Warwick, Agent, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Thirteenth day of November, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, in the twenty-fifth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Edward Curtis Kemp, Her special licence that I, the said Edward
Curtis Kemp, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as
I, the said Edward Curtis Kemp, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at
all times thereafter during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully
might make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN GAS LAMPS, GLASSES, AND OTHER FITTINGS," upon the
condition (amongst others) that I, the said Edward Curtis Kemp, my
executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their,
or one of their hands and seals, should particularly describe and ascertain
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be
performed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office
within six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said
Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Edward Curtis Kemp, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement, reference being had to the Sheet of Drawings hereunto annexed,
and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say) :-
My improvements relate to gas lamps, their glasses, and tops. The first
part consists in constructing the framework or parts that retain the glass of a

page_text: ball lamp so that a single nut and screw at the top of each pillar or upright
bar thereof serves to unite the upper frame and the radial arms by which the
lamp is supported and suspended from the centre. To effect this I form the
lower glass frame with internal lugs, on which the glass rests, and into
which the pillars are fitted and fixed by screws, or otherwise. The upper
glass frame has like lugs attached, or in connection with the stretcher or gas
box by which the whole is suspended; the upper ends of the pillars pass
through the wider parts or lugs, and receive the radial arms; thumb or. other
nuts at top secures the whole together. I dispose the pillars interior of the
glass, which may be cylindrical or of other form desired.
Another improvement in these lamps consists in supporting them by a hook
and eye from the gas pipe, in such way that the lamp can be unhooked at
pleasure without interfering with the gas duct, which I continue by a small
pipe passing from the main supporting pipe down within the interior of the
lamp; this I make to jut out a little from the side of the main pipe before
turning down, in order to clear the hook and supporting part of the lamp
which hangs concentrically with the main pipe.
Now,
The next part of my Invention relates to gas and other lamps, and their
glasses and shades, and to the method of applying and fixing them to the
fittings; these glasses or shades are generally supported by a triangular piece
from the bottom, which throws a disagreeable shadow downwards.
according to my Invention, I support them from the upper part; for this
purpose I make the glass somewhat in the form of an inverted parabola or
bell shape, that is to say, with the large end uppermost; this is formed with a
lip, which is inserted within a ring fixed horizontally at the termination, and
on a level with the gas arm of the lamp or chandelier, or other fitting. The
glass rests on two lugs within the ring, and is inserted from below, and fixed
by means of a screw opposed to the two lugs. The gas is conducted by a
small pipe from the arm, and descends within the parabolic shade to a suitable
point; an opening is made in the bottom of the shade for the admission of air.
I further apply a top or cover according to my Invention, which harmonizes with
the contour of, and completes the above form and arrangement of shade. This
cover consists first, of a disc of metal in which one or more concentric steps
are formed, one of which drop and fit more or less closely the upper
opening of the glass; an opening is formed in the centre of this disc, which
serves to receive and sustain the fire-clay top, in which are apertures for the
escape of the products of combustion from the shade, more apertures may be
made through the disc piece if necessary. This form of top I also apply to
ordinary lamp glasses and shades, in which I apply and affix the ornamental

page_text: ring to the outer diameter of the disc piece, this may also be the case in its
application to the improved shade, as such ornamental ring so affixed to the
disc may encircle and cover a plain ring supporting the shade. By this
arrangement of the stepped disc piece in combination with the fire-clay top,
no individual fitting of the top to the glass is necessary, as is the case with the
ordinary tops of gas glasses and shades. These glasses above described, and
the means of fixing them are equally well adapted for hall lamps or other
single lights, by suspending and supporting a ring from a central pendant pipe
by suitable radial arms, the gas pipe descending within the glass as before.
The opening at bottom of these glasses may be ornamented by an open metal-
work or other piece to permit the entrance of the air. I surmount these
single-light glasses by a flat disc-like shade, which encloses more or less the
upper part of the glass. Glasses fitted and applied in this manner can be as
readily removed for cleaning or other purposes as an ordinary gas glass.
DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS.
Fig. 1 of the annexed Sheet of Drawings represents a hall lamp complete,
and Fig. 2 the framework thereof, fitted according to my Invention; while
Fig. 3 represents a plan of the bottom ring or frame; and Fig. 4 a plan of
the upper ring or frame, and the radial arms by which it is suspended. The
lower ring a has three lugs b, b, on which the glass c rests, to which the pillars
or rods d are fixed; the upper ring has corresponding lugs e, e, through
which the tops of the pillars d pass; they are also passed through the radial
arms fff; both the lugs and the arms are fastened to each pillar by thumb-
nuts g thereon. The radial arms or triangle is screwed or otherwise fixed on
the pendant pipe h, as usual, and may, if preferred, be of one piece with the
upper ring or frame. These rings a and i are furnished with ornamental curtains
k, k, as seen in Fig. 1, and the lower ring or framework with a door / hinged
at'm, and secured by a button'n, all as usual, in such lamps, while a shade o,
supported between collars on pendant h, renders the whole complete.
Figs. 5 and 6 illustrate a further improvement in hall lamps, which consists
in forming and fixing a loop p on the triangle f,f,f, instead of fixing it to the
pendant pipe as usual, and fixing a hook ; to the pendant pipe h, in which the
loop p can be hung and removed from it at pleasure for cleaning the lamp or
for other purposes. The gas pipe r to the burners juts out from the side of
pendant h, as seen, instead of descending from the centre of such pipe, as
usual, and as in Fig. 2.
Fig. 7 represents a chandelier furnished with glasses, constructed and fitted
according to this Invention; while Fig. 8. represents the supporting ring with

page_text: the glass removed; s is the supporting ring fixed on the arm t; it has two
lugs u, u, at the under part, and a screw opposed thereto on the same level
as the lugs, so that the shade, which is furnished with a flange, as seen in
Fig. 9, is inserted from below, and the screw v projected; it will hang on the
lugs u, u, and screw v; an ornamental ring or curtain is applied to hide the
junction of the parts. The gas duct x passes over the top of the shade, and
descends to bring the jet nearer the lower part of the shade, as seen, the axis
of the gas tap and thumb knob may descend near to or through the opening
in the bottom of the shade.
This form of shade and method of fixing them are also applicable for
bracket lights, as will be readily understood from the foregoing illustration,
and also to single pendant lights for hall lamps, as represented in Figs. 10, 11,
& 12.
Fig.. 10 represents the lamp complete; Fig. 11, the shade separately; and
Fig. 12, the supporting ring as fitted to sustain the shade, as before described,
and will require no further description.
The next part of my Invention relates to the construction and arrangement
of parts constituting or supporting tops placed on gas shades; these are
usually made of fire-clay, and ordinarily require to be fitted individually to the
glass to which they are applied. I form my tops in part of a disc or annular
plate of metal y, as seen in plan, Fig. 13, and in section in Figs. 14 & 15.
This disc I strike in suitable dies, so that it has one or more concentric steps y
in it, the upper part forming a recess, into which the fire-clay top drops, and
is held in position while the projection on the under part is received and drops
into the glass, and is thereby held in position; an ornamental ring or curtain
is applied to the periphery of the disc, as represented in Figs. 16 & 17.
Holes are made in the fire-clay part of the top for the escape of the products
of combustion. The fire-clay part of the top may either be fixed to the metal
disc y or only drop therein. Instead of forming the holes in the fire-clay
part; I sometimes further raise an ornamental part struck up by suitable dies
from the disc y, & form the holes therein, as seen, the fire-clay part being
secured at the upper part of such raised and ornamental part, as seen in
Figs. 14 and.16; the concentric step or steps fitting the glass shade is the
same as before. I sometimes also make holes for the escape of the products
of combustion both in the metal disc part and in the fire-clay part of the top,
which holes in the disc may be in the flat surface thereof, instead of in the
raised ornamental part, as seen.
Gas glass tops constructed as described I apply to either ordinary gas glasses
or to shades constructed and supported according to my Invention, and repre-

page_text: sented at Figs. 7 & 8; in the latter case the exterior ornamental ring may
either be attached to the disc of the top or to the ring supporting the
shade.
Having described the nature of my Invention, and the manner of performing
the same, I declare that what I claim as my Invention to be protected by the
berein-before in part recited Letters Patent is,―
First, constructing the different parts of the lantern described with reference
to Figs. 1, 2, 3, and 4, so that the upper frame and parts from which the
lantern is suspended may be united by one nut and fastening applied to each
pillar, and so supporting the glass and lower frame as described.
Secondly, I claim the fitting and applying gas lanterns, as described, with
reference to Figs. 5 and 6, for the purpose of hanging and unbanging the
lantern, as may be desired.
Thirdly, I claim forming glass shades for gas lights, with a flange at the
upper part, and supporting them thereby, and by fittings arranged as
described with reference to Figs. 7 and 8 of the Drawings hereunto
annexed.
Fourthly, I claim constructing tops for gas glasses with metal discs or
annular plates having concentric steps, as and for the purposes herein-before
described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Edward Curtis Kemp, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Ninth day of May, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two.
Witnessed by
T. WELLS INGRAM.
EDWP. C. KEMP. (L.S.)