Development Of Gas Shades During The Victorian Period
Victorian style glass lamp shades continue to be popular today, two hundred years after their first introduction and some hundred years after they were superseded by the successor: the electrical light. The reason why they are popular today is partly due to their classical aesthetic appeal, and partly due to their continued functional relevance as shades for the tungsten light bulb.
The Victorian era glass shade spread during Queen Victoria’s reign of Great Britain; however, the origins can be placed further back to the invention of the first controlled gas lighting device. In the late 18th century in Great Britain, an inventor named William Murdoch became the first man to try hooking up a gas supply with consistent flow rate to fuel a gas flame.
William Murdoch was employed by a company specializing in making steam engines for the mining industry. Because of his connection to coal mines, he was able to secure a supply of coal gas to do his experiments.
In the beginning he put gas lamps in his own home. Later he moved them outside to dazzle the crowd. Finally he started putting them into company grounds where his colleagues could digest the implications of his invention. It so struck one Samuel Clegg that he left the steam engine firm to start a business in glass lamp shades.
Murdoch’s ventures were not the only ones. For example, the German Friedrich Winzer applied for exclusive patent protection on coal gas-fueled lamps in the early 1800s. Another man, Phillipe Lebon of France, set up gas powered lamps for light his home and home exterior. Soon after his experiments, the city of Paris took it upon itself to light the streets with gas power.
The impact of the first city-wide lights is hard to overstate. City-mandated lights meant that streets could become highly usable even in the evening hours, extending hours of commerce and travel. In addition, the streets became much less hospital to criminals who found it harder to commit crimes in the glare of the gas lamps.
The benefits of gas lighting were not limited to the streets. When installed indoors, factories found that they could extend the hours of their workers. Moreover, the decorating of homes with novel glass lamp shades meant the development of a new industry aimed at artistic and interior design.
Light shades for the homes of the Victorian era were mostly made of glass. The period saw the development of the canonical shade design, characterized by a spherical shape, a circular opening on the top for letting out excess hot air, and acid or other kinds of etching for surface aesthetics.
The site discusses how to choose lamp shades glass. Still have inquiries ? Maybe you can check out our research about the vintage glass lamp shades market.
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Posted: March 10th, 2010 under Home & Family.
Tags: decoration, furnishings, furniture, home, Home & Family, home accessories, home and family, home and garden, Home Decor, home improvement, homes, house, interior design, lighting, lights