Oil lamps have been a part of human life since earliest times and have lit our way through most of history. Even today they are still used in many parts of the world and many have retained their simplest form. It is quite probable that the first oil lamp was nothing more than a small crude clay vessel or bowl made to hold tallow or some form of plant oil and a wick made of reed. In early times man most likely went to bed with the setting sun or made do with the glowing light from his fire but archeological finds show that prehistoric man used some form of oil lamp 20,000 years ago and in the fifteenth century Leonardo Da Vinci was the first to enclose the flame in a glass chimney which helped to protect the flame from drafts and eliminate the flicker.
The Early Oil Lamp
Before the Revolutionary War, the primitive open oil lamps and rush lights were still in use. The rush light consisted of a reed held upright in a dish containing grease. These primitive forms of oil lamps remained in use as late as the Civil War. In 1784, Ami Argand invented an oil lamp which drastically changed and improved the path of lighting forever. It had a reservoir that held oil and a flat wick that burned on both the inner and outer surfaces. As air rose up through the center, oxygen consumed most of the carbon while providing a stronger and brighter light with less smoke and little flicker. Later that same year a Frenchman added a glass chimney to Argand’s invention, creating a draft, thus greatly intensifying the amount of artificial light.
In 1879, with Thomas Edison s improvements to the light bulb, lighting the night was forever changed.
Still Lighting The Way
Today many of these early oil lamps still exist as antique collectibles or even remain in use in remote areas where no electric lines reach. Some people still keep an oil lamp handy in case of power outages and you can find modern functional versions of the oil lamp that serve as decorative accent pieces or burn scented oils.
It s easy to see that the humble oil lamp has a very long and interesting history. It may have been the invention of the wheel that started man on his journey to modern times but it was the oil lamp that lit his way.