American Lamps & Lights

Until the 1800s, most Americans were lighting their homes with candles, an expensive and unreliable light source. Candles were often placed in metal holders so they could be carried from room to room without dripping wax. Elaborate hanging candelabras, which used cut glass to enhance the candlelight, were often found high above dining tables and ballrooms in larger homes.

Oil and gas lamps became commonplace as technology advanced. They sat on furniture and utilized ornate glass chimneys and receptacles to hold the fuel needed for the flame and feed the wick with oxygen so it would continue to burn. When gas lamps first appeared, wall sconces became the de rigueur. They were mounted on the walls of more stately homes to accommodate the gas lines that fed lamps with fuel.

It was not until the invention of the electric light bulb by Thomas Edison around 1878 that American lamps experienced their first real renaissance. At that time, several styles emerged that were meant to diffuse the harsh electric light in the home. Stained glass and patterned shades were two fashionable solutions to this problem.

Quick Facts

• As new natural resources were discovered throughout America in the 1800s, in-home kerosene and oil lighting became much more accessible
• Etched glass, while also aesthetically pleasing, served an important purpose in lighthouses by refracting and focusing the light
• An original Pink Lotus Tiffany lamp fetched $2.8 million at Christie’s in New York in 1997, making it the most expensive American lamp ever sold