Glass lamp shades from the Victorian era are still in widespread use today despite having been formally replaced by modern era electrical lamp shades. There are numerous reasons as to why they continue to be popular in this age: their aesthetic appeal to those interested in classical decor, and their persistent high functionality as light bulbs and gas flames are both easily accommodated by the same sized shade.
The Victorian era glass shade spread during Queen Victoria's reign of Great Britain; however, the origins can be placed further back to the invention of the first controlled gas lighting device. In the late 18th century in Great Britain, an inventor named William Murdoch became the first man to try hooking up a gas supply with consistent flow rate to fuel a gas flame.
William Murdoch was employed by a company specializing in making steam engines for the mining industry. Because of his connection to coal mines, he was able to secure a supply of coal gas to do his experiments.
His initial forays involved hooking up both his own residence and the buildings of his employer. He designed and fashioned lamps himself, and fascinated the generation's onlookers who came from all over town to gawk. Likewise, his coworker Samuel Clegg was amazed by the sight so much that he quit his position at the company to start up a gas light firm.
However, Clegg and Murdoch were far from the only ones to conduct such experiments. A German by the name of Friedrich Winzer was also recorded to have had patented a type of gas-fired lamp a few years later. Similarly, a Frenchman by the name of Lebon created some gas-fired lamps for decorating his house. Paris was soon to be overtaken by the gas lamp craze.
The effect of municipal-wide lighting is difficult to overestimate. Lighting on every street meant that streets were usable late into the night, enabling people to travel for leisure or work at many more hours of the day. Additionally, crime rates dropped in the streets when it became harder to conceal one's identity in the glow of the lamps.
The benefits of gas lighting were not limited to the streets. When installed indoors, factories found that they could extend the hours of their workers. Moreover, the decorating of homes with novel glass lamp shades meant the development of a new industry aimed at artistic and interior design.
The earliest home shades used glass as the raw material. Glass was highly malleable and could be shaped into different kinds of profiles. These shades were also characterized by stylistic etchings on the outer surface. The basic shape was a globe to shield the gas-fired flame, and a round opening on the top to release heat.
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