Antique Miniature Camphene/Whale Oil Lamp Ca. 1850

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"Unusual Old Hand or Spark Lamp", Ca. 1850 Old Hand, or "Spark" Lamp About 2 1/2" tall to top of collar Base about 2" in diameter As Shown in Hayward's 1927 Book "Colonial and Early American Lighting" Background & History: All the way back in 1927, Little Brown and Company published the 2nd Edition of Arthur Hayward's book "Colonial and Early American Lighting". In that book, in Plate 79, Hayward shows a picture of a lamp which looks just like this one and calls it a "hand" or "spark" lamp. Hayward indicates that the lamp was made to burn "camphene", a highly volatile (i.e., explosive) mixture of turpentine and alcohol, usually with some camphor added to mask the odor of the turpentine. Since camphene was used for lighting between about 1840 and 1860, we would guess that this lamp dates from that period. According to Hayward, because the lamp was designed to burn camphene, it should have a snug-fitting snuffer cap attached to the burner by a chain (camphene was so volatile that extinguishing them by blowing them out was ill-advised). Condition of this lamp: With the exception of the missing chain and snuffer cap, this lamp is in excellent condition with no discernible defects. The burner wick tube has a small slit in it; this slit was used to adjust the wick with a pick inserted into the slit and moved up and down as necessary. While the burner on this lamp looks like the burner on the lamp in the picture in the Hayward book, it may not be the original burner; we imagine that the original burner had a small hole to which the snuffer cap chain was attached. Measurements are to the left beneath the first photo. This is a very small, very old lamp and a good example of a small night lamp from just after the era of whale oil lighting and just before the era of kerosene as a lighting fuel. Our objective is to have happy, satisfied customers. We will work with you to satisfactorily resolve any problems. Feel free to ask any questions prior to bidding. We try to answer all questions promptly. Just click on eBay's "Ask seller a question" link above to send us an email through eBay. Please bid only if you intend to honor your bid with payment. All items are sold "As Is". We do our best to describe all items accurately. However, mistakes and oversights can occur. Returns will be accepted within 7 days if item is found to be not as described. In general refunds will be given as money back and will include the original bid amount and initial shipping costs (but not the return shipping cost). Refunds will be given once the item is received and verified to be in the same condition as when it was sold. Shipping Information eBay's shipping calculator should show the correct shipping charges. However, we combine multiple purchases to save you on shipping costs. If you win more than one of our items, contact us for revised and reduced shipping costs. If you overpay for shipping, or if we inadvertently overcharge you for shipping, we will refund the overage. We ship using the United State Postal Service and wrap our items as securely as we can. Insurance is required on this item. I nformation for International Buyers International buyers not using Paypal, please use a form of payment denominated in U.S. dollars. eBay's shipping calculator should show the correct International shipping charges; International buyers, however, can contact us regarding shipping costs and alternatives. Interested in learning more about miniature lamps? Want to meet other miniature lamp collectors? Contact Bob Culver at to learn about joining the Night Light Club. ... read more

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