Miner’s Cap Lamp
notes: label: Description (Brief)
content: This oil-wick cap lamp was made by an unknown maker during the second half of the 19th century. The oil-wick cap lamp was first invented in Scotland in 1850 and in use until the 1920’s. The font contained a mix of fat and oil for fuel, and a wick was inserted into the spout. The resulting flame was much brighter and more efficient than the candles it replaced. The tag calls this a “boss lamp,” and the hook on this lamp is larger than most, and was likely used to hold the lamp rather than hook it onto a cap.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
setName: label: See more items in
content: Work and Industry: Mining
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content: Mining Lamps
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content: Work
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content: Industry & Manufacturing
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content: Natural Resources
publisher: label: Related Publication
content: Dewey, Frederic P.. Bulletin of the United States National Museum No. 42: A Preliminary Descriptive Catalogue of the Systematic Collections in Economic Geology and Metallurgy in the United States National Museum
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: AG.MHI-MT-3378
label: accession number
content: 014851
label: catalog number
content: MHI-MT-3378
objectType: label: Object Name
content: lamp, oil, cap, boss
label: Object Name
content: mining lamp
physicalDescription: label: Measurements
content: overall: 5 in x 5 1/2 in x 3 1/2 in; 12.7 cm x 13.97 cm x 8.89 cm