General Information

Serial #

N/A

Part Number

2

Total Parts

2

AKA

N/A

Patents

N/A

General Description

Brass and glass

Dimensions

Note: These reflect the general size for storage and are not necessarily representative of the object's true dimensions.

Length

15.5 cm

Width

13.2 cm

Height

27.0 cm

Thickness

N/A

Weight

N/A

Diameter

N/A

Volume

N/A

Lexicon

Group

Motorized Ground Transportation

Category

Automotive parts

Sub-Category

N/A

Manufacturer

AKA

Powell Hanmer

Country

England

State/Province

Unknown

City

Birmingham

Context

Country

Unknown

State/Province

Unknown

Period

Unknown

Canada

Unknown

Function

A device used to provide light on the front of an automobile, both to make it visible to others and to allow those in the vehicle to see in front of them in low visibility or bad weather.

Technical

Before the advent of the automobile, horse drawn carriages were the primary mode of transportation. Candles and oil lamps were attached to the carriages in order to signal their presence. The automobile first appeared in the late 1880s but at first they were not equipped with lights; as a result, night time driving was not possible. The first lighting devices used on automobiles were oil (kerosene) lanterns, which served as a signal to other drivers of carriages and vehicles, as well as pedestrians. However, the oil lanterns did not illuminate the road, which was often in poor condition. In 1906, acetylene gas powered headlamps were introduced in the United States and were increasingly used by motorists; this type of lamp was manufactured until 1912 (Moore: 1-2). The light bulb was invented over a period of time by many inventors, however its invention is credited to Joseph Swan and Thomas Edison, who did similar work around 1878 and 1879 (Grabianowski, "10 Inventions that Changed the World"). The first electric automotive headlamp was created in 1908 and was offered as an optional accessory to the vehicle. Electric headlamps were installed as standard equipment c. 1913. The light bulb was constructed using a vacuum sealed carbon filament that was not filled with gas. The only type of beam pattern available until 1924 was a single beam pattern called a spot beam. The invention of the light bulb provided motorists with the flexibility of driving during the day or night (Moore: 2-3, 7). Many automobile lamps have survived today because they were detachable (Gardiner and Morris: 13).

Area Notes

Unknown

Details

Markings

Round mfr plate reads "MADE IN ENGLAND/ P & H/ POWELL & HANMER LTD./ BIRMINGHAM".

Missing

None

Finish

Brass lamp with bevelled glass as lens on front of lamp. There is also a small circular red glass on the back.

Decoration

N/A