Oil-Wick Cap Lamp
notes: label: Description
content: This oil-wick cap lamp was made by John Dunlap of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 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 hook enabled the lamp to be worn on a cap. This lamp has a double-spout, indicating that it could have burned "Sunshine" fuel, a mixture of paraffin wax and 3% mineral oil produced by the Standard Oil Company. Often called a "Sunshine Lamp," the outer spout served to insulate the wick in the inner spout, thereby conducting enough heat to melt the wax.
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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: Grant Wheat Collection
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Mary R. Wheat
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: AG.MHI-MN-8148D
label: accession number
content: 239148
label: catalog number
content: MHI-MN-8148D
objectType: label: Object Name
content: lamp, oil, cap, mining
physicalDescription: label: Measurements
content: overall: 3 3/8 in x 1 5/8 in x 4 in; 8.636 cm x 4.064 cm x 10.16 cm