Of Things Past and Imagined
  • Home
    • About me
  • History
  • Book reviews
  • Authors & Illustrators
  • Blog

History

Boys, Light up the town!

3/1/2017

 
Though not completely extinct (there are still lamplighters in London and Wroclaw), lamplighter is a typical profession of the past. 

Since the beginning of the 19th century, city streets are illuminated. Before that, cities were completely dark – and only those who could afford a servant or a link boy could take a night walk safely. Although is not known for sure if the word's first public gas light got into operation in London or in Germany, the 1st of April, 1814, is generally regarded as the "birth date" of gas lighting. On that day, the old oil lamps around the St. Margaret's Chruch in London-Westminster were replaced by modern gas lamps. Following London, streets all over the world lit up very quickly. 

Every single lamp had to be lit and put out by hand. As cities and villages got more laterns, more and more lamplighters were employed - each responsible for a certain area. The used a wooden ladder to climb up and open the glass doors of a latern. (Ever noticed a horizonal bar just below the lamp? That was for the ladder to lean against.) Then they used a long pole with a wick and a small hook attached to it to lit respectively to put out the flame. 

Other duties of the lamplighters were to control and renew the candles and the oil when necessary, and as a result of their job, they often acted as watchmen. 

During my research on this posts I found this curious bicycle you can see above, apparently used by lamplighters to ride from one latern to another. If they managed to balance 2 meter above the ground, that is. 
​
By the way, I love that older job titles just described what the person did. No modality managers, environmental maintenance officers or whatsoever back in the days. 

Comments are closed.

    Archives

    November 2020
    April 2020
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015

    Categories

    All
    14th Century
    15th Century
    16th Century
    17th Century
    18th Century
    19th Century
    20th Century
    America
    Art
    Eternal Women
    France
    Germany
    Literature
    Middle Ages
    Netherlands
    Paris Noir
    Roman Empire
    United Kingdom

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
Photo used under Creative Commons from fusion-of-horizons
  • Home
    • About me
  • History
  • Book reviews
  • Authors & Illustrators
  • Blog