Safety Lamps/Hughes Vest Pocket Davy Marking

Safety Lamps

Hughes Vest Pocket Davy Marking.JPG - HUGHES VEST POCKET DAVY - Miniature vest pocket safety lamp made by Hughes Bros. Scranton, PA, all brass with steel gauze, 4 3/4 in. to top of hook ring, 1 1/2 in. base dia., marked with number 16 on both inside of base and outside edge of base, marked on base HUGHES BROS.SCRANTON, PA,U.S.A. ex-Caroline Ewing collection, Louisville KY, NOS condition [Hughes Bros. made two different miniature or vest pocket safety lamps – a Davy style shown here and a somewhat taller Clanny style shown later. Both are hard to find, especially the Clanny. While some think these lamps may have been salesman’s samples, it is very clear that they were working lamps probably carried by mine officials and inspectors. The Davy is made of high quality brass and its gauze is the proper hole opening and laced, has a workable wick riser, includes a screw-in ring to support the gauze and the wick holder is secured by a screw-in ring. In all respects, this is a working lamp albeit small. See Ross, Eureka #19, pp 22-23] [The Hughes Brothers of Scranton PA were a major U.S. manufacturer of safety lamps at the beginning of the 20th century. William S. Hughes of South Wales was a skilled maker of safety lamps where he designed safety lamps for well-known English hardware merchant Evan Thomas of Aberdare. Hughes packed up his family and immigrated to the U.S. in 1882 where he settled in Scranton. Hughes had three sons, William H. born in 1871, Ralph W. born in 1875 and Sidney R. born in 1877. The father was listed as working as a metal engraver after moving to Scranton until 1893 when he listed his occupation as a safety lamp maker at a new business located at 420 N. Main Ave. In 1898 the two brothers William H. and Ralph W. formed the Hughes Bros. company at their father’s shop. The youngest brother Sidney R. was not admitted as a partner in the business until 1914 although he was listed before then as an employee. Even though Hughes Bros. had a significant market share of the safety lamp sales in the U.S., they looked to expand as they introduced three new acetylene mining lamps in the early 1910s. Designated in an undated Hughes catalog as Pathfinder Styles A, B and C, two were hand lamps, B and C (the latter touted as a sportsman lamp) and the third, Style A, was a cap lamp easily recognized by the black steel clip that attaches the reflector to the lamp. Both hand lamps are quite rare. In 1918 the business moved to 410-412 North Ninth Avenue. After the end World War I, coal demand subsided, Scranton entered an economic depression and the Hughes Bros. business struggled. By 1929, both William H. and Ralph W. had left the company leaving only Sidney to run the company newly named the Hughes Brass Works. The business finally closed in 1937. (See Thorpe, Beneath the Surface – Inventors and Marketeers on the Miners’ Carbide Light, pp 143-153)]

Hughes Vest Pocket Davy Marking | HUGHES VEST POCKET DAVY - Miniature vest pocket safety lamp made by Hughes Bros. Scranton, PA, all brass with steel gauze, 4 3/4 in. to top of hook ring, 1 1/2 in. base dia., marked with number 16 on both inside of base and outside edge of base, marked on base HUGHES BROS.SCRANTON, PA,U.S.A. ex-Caroline Ewing collection, Louisville KY, NOS condition [Hughes Bros. made two different miniature or vest pocket safety lamps – a Davy style shown here and a somewhat taller Clanny style shown later. Both are hard to find, especially the Clanny. While some think these lamps may have been salesman’s samples, it is very clear that they were working lamps probably carried by mine officials and inspectors. The Davy is made of high quality brass and its gauze is the proper hole opening and laced, has a workable wick riser, includes a screw-in ring to support the gauze and the wick holder is secured by a screw-in ring. In all respects, this is a working lamp albeit small. See Ross, Eureka #19, pp 22-23] [The Hughes Brothers of Scranton PA were a major U.S. manufacturer of safety lamps at the beginning of the 20th century. William S. Hughes of South Wales was a skilled maker of safety lamps where he designed safety lamps for well-known English hardware merchant Evan Thomas of Aberdare. Hughes packed up his family and immigrated to the U.S. in 1882 where he settled in Scranton. Hughes had three sons, William H. born in 1871, Ralph W. born in 1875 and Sidney R. born in 1877. The father was listed as working as a metal engraver after moving to Scranton until 1893 when he listed his occupation as a safety lamp maker at a new business located at 420 N. Main Ave. In 1898 the two brothers William H. and Ralph W. formed the Hughes Bros. company at their father’s shop. The youngest brother Sidney R. was not admitted as a partner in the business until 1914 although he was listed before then as an employee. Even though Hughes Bros. had a significant market share of the safety lamp sales in the U.S., they looked to expand as they introduced three new acetylene mining lamps in the early 1910s. Designated in an undated Hughes catalog as Pathfinder Styles A, B and C, two were hand lamps, B and C (the latter touted as a sportsman lamp) and the third, Style A, was a cap lamp easily recognized by the black steel clip that attaches the reflector to the lamp. Both hand lamps are quite rare. In 1918 the business moved to 410-412 North Ninth Avenue. After the end World War I, coal demand subsided, Scranton entered an economic depression and the Hughes Bros. business struggled. By 1929, both William H. and Ralph W. had left the company leaving only Sidney to run the company newly named the Hughes Brass Works. The business finally closed in 1937. (See Thorpe, Beneath the Surface – Inventors and Marketeers on the Miners’ Carbide Light, pp 143-153)]

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