Object Details
Description (Brief)
This Davy safety lamp was made by J.W. Queen & Company of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the late 19th century. Sir Humphry Davy developed one of many safety lamp designs. He discovered that if the holes in the metallic gauze enveloping the flame were smaller than they were deep, the flame would not pass through. This prevented the combustible gases (called firedamp) from exploding, as would happen with the open flames earlier oil-wick cap lamps.
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
AG.059271
catalog number
59271
accession number
15369
Object Name
lamp, safety, mining
mining lamp
Measurements
overall: 12 1/4 in x 3 3/4 in x 3 1/4 in; 31.115 cm x 9.525 cm x 8.255 cm
Related Publication
Dewey, Frederic P.. Bulletin of the United States National Museum No. 42: A Preliminary Descriptive Catalogue of the Systematic Collections in Economic Geology and Metallurgy in the United States National Museum
See more items in
Work and Industry: Mining
Mining Lamps
Work
Industry & Manufacturing
Natural Resources
Data Source
National Museum of American History
Link to Original Record
Record ID
nmah_872265