Oilwick Lamps/J. Melville RSide

Oilwick Lamps

J. Melville RSide.JPG - J. MELVILLE LOCHGELLY - Brass Scottish face lamp, marked J. MELVILLE, LOCHGELLY onfont, 2 in. tall to lid, 1 5/8 in. base dia., with tin base and flat hook; This lamp is made using a design that was patented in the U.S. by W. Seybold as patent #35,264 dated May 13, 1862. The Grant, Melville and ABK marked Scottish lamps are identical to the Seybold patent drawing. It’s not clear which came first, the U.S. patent or this style of lamp in Scotland. These lamps were designed to burn tallow or other non-fluid grease instead of oil, predating the invention of sunshine fuel. (Wick lamps from Scottish makers are often found here in the U.S. It is presumed that they were brought here by Scottish coal miners or perhaps marketed here by the Scottish manufacturers. The known Scottish wick lamp makers that include town markings on their lamps are all from the Scottish coalfields roughly defined as an area approximately 20 miles north and 30 miles south of a line connecting Edinburgh and Glasgow. The towns marked on these lamps are primarily located in the counties of Midlothian, Fifeshire, Lanarkshire and Ayrshire and include Dalkeith, Portobello, Lochelly, Kilmarnock, Kilwinning, and Kirkcaldy. These lamps are typically on the small side, often made of brass and typically come with flat hooks as shown in the pic. See Moon, Mining Artifact Collector #6, pp 19-21)

J. Melville RSide | J. MELVILLE LOCHGELLY - Brass Scottish face lamp, marked J. MELVILLE, LOCHGELLY on font, 2 in. tall to lid, 1 5/8 in. base dia., with tin base and flat hook; This lamp is made using a design that was patented in the U.S. by W. Seybold as patent #35,264 dated May 13, 1862. The Grant, Melville and ABK marked Scottish lamps are identical to the Seybold patent drawing. It’s not clear which came first, the U.S. patent or this style of lamp in Scotland. These lamps were designed to burn tallow or other non-fluid grease instead of oil, predating the invention of sunshine fuel. (Wick lamps from Scottish makers are often found here in the U.S. It is presumed that they were brought here by Scottish coal miners or perhaps marketed here by the Scottish manufacturers. The known Scottish wick lamp makers that include town markings on their lamps are all from the Scottish coalfields roughly defined as an area approximately 20 miles north and 30 miles south of a line connecting Edinburgh and Glasgow. The towns marked on these lamps are primarily located in the counties of Midlothian, Fifeshire, Lanarkshire and Ayrshire and include Dalkeith, Portobello, Lochelly, Kilmarnock, Kilwinning, and Kirkcaldy. These lamps are typically on the small side, often made of brass and typically come with flat hooks as shown in the pic. See Moon, Mining Artifact Collector #6, pp 19-21)

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