Lamp, Camphene;
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https://digital.library.illinois.edu/items/c2f1dbb0-0d92-0135-23f6-0050569601ca-8
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Descriptive Information
| Title | Lamp, Camphene; |
| Description | Small camphene/kerosene lamp made out of brass. A saucer holds a small cylinder on top of which is a globular reservoir with a pronounced shoulder. This leads to a single wick channel. A conical cap is attached by means of a hinge. There is a circular carrying handle. |
| Interpretation | Camphene, a combination mineral spirits and alcohol was used as a lamp fuel for a short time in the middle of the 19th century. Because whale oil was so expensive camphene was used as a replacement. Camphene was extremely volatile. If the flame from one wick heated the other wick the heat could travel back into the reservoir and explode. Thus, camphene lamps have either single wicks, or double wicks pointed away from one another. Camphene evaporated quickly, which could be the reason for the conical lid, although it surely also functioned as a snuffer. |
| Lesson Plans / Themes | |
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| Temporal Coverage | 1840/1865 |
| Collection Publisher | Early American Museum |
| Rights | Copyright Not Evaluated |
| Resource Identifier | 1968.001.1195 |
| Date Created | 2-24-2003 |
| Collection Title | Teaching with Digital Content (Cultural Heritage Community) |
| Collection | Teaching with Digital Content (Cultural Heritage Community) |
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Lamp, Camphene; |