Miner's Safety Lamp

This lamp's manufacturer is unknown, but based on its design it was most likely made in the latter half of the 19th century. The “safety” mining lamp was a tremendous step forward in preventing mining disasters. Encasing the flame in glass or metal gauze prevented combustible mine gases (called firedamp) from exploding, as would happen with the open flames of carbide or oil-wick lamps. This Davy style lamp has the interesting addition of a lens to focus the flame's light.

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