Treasures of the past… This was Granny Renfroe’s lamp. I know it came to Arkansas from the Humphrey’s in New York. Granny got it from her Mother Mary Humphrey Standridge, Granny passed it to Larry’s Mom, she passed it to Gary Renfroe and in 2018, Uncle Gary passed it to Laura. At one time I knew the exact story of the coal oil lamp, but now the details have escaped my mind. I should written it down. These lamps were once a new invention, much desired over candles. In 1846 Abraham Gesner invented a substitute for whale oil for lighting, distilled from coal. Later made from petroleum, kerosene became a popular lighting fuel. Modern and most popular versions of the kerosene lamp were later constructed by Polish inventor and pharmacist Ignacy Łukasiewicz, in Lviv in 1853. It was a significant improvement over lamps designed to burn vegetable or sperm oil.
Days of trimming a wick are over. We just buy a little battery light at Harbor Freight. I don’t think the new light will last to be passed down 100 years from now. I’ve had to toss several in the trash. Old refrigerators used to last 50 years. Now, many are history in two. The average life of a fridge today is 13 years. Something seems amiss. Are we really smarter?
3 comments:
Those lamps are beautiful.
That is a beautiful lamp! I need to buy more battery operated tea lights, I have them here and there as they give off a soft glow instead of candles:)
How nice to have the old light from the past and the new ones might not last long but still they are pretty.
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