A series of innovations at the end of the eighteenth century significantly improved artificial lighting. Pertinent to the pewter and Britannia industry was John Mile’s “agitable” oil lamp, invented in 1787, which was notable for its oil-tight font. By the 1820S manufacturers began producing a variety of Britannia lamps that burned whale oil or burning fluid. Contrary to popular belief, the “bull's-eye” lamp did not focus the light, but its limited diffusion seems to have reduced the effect of flickering. The quantity of these lamps surviving attests to their popularity, while slight variations indicate that a number of manufacturers produced them.

Technical notes: The bases are weighted. The lenses are fitted into metal frames, which are secured by brackets.

Related examples: An example stamped by Roswell Gleason of Dorchester, Massachusetts, is the only marked example of this lighting device, in Hood 1965, p. 29, no. 121.

Book excerpt: David B. Warren, Michael K. Brown, Elizabeth Ann Coleman, and Emily Ballew Neff. American Decorative Arts and Paintings in the Bayou Bend Collection. Houston: Princeton Univ. Press, 1998.