Name/Title
U.S. Patent for Electric Lamp – Joseph V. Nichols & Lewis H. Latimer (1881)Description
This document is an official U.S. Patent Office record for Patent No. 247,097, granted to Joseph V. Nichols and Lewis H. Latimer on September 13, 1881 for improvements in incandescent electric lamps. The patent application was filed on April 18, 1881, detailing advancements in the design and construction of the incandescent light bulb, specifically regarding the method of mounting carbon filaments and connecting them with electrical wires.
The patent includes:
A detailed technical description of the improved electric lamp.
An explanation of the carbon filament's structure, including how it is secured, carbonized, and mounted within a sealed vacuum bulb.
An innovation in perforated carbon strips that allows for better electrical contact and longevity of the lamp.
A method to enhance durability by reducing heat damage to electrical connections.
The document is partially torn at the bottom and along the left edge, but remains largely legible and intact.Context
Lewis H. Latimer was a pioneering Black inventor and engineer who played a role in refining and improving the incandescent light bulb. He worked with Alexander Graham Bell and Hiram Maxim and for Thomas Edison. This patent represents one of Latimer’s contributions to electric lighting technology. This patent was filed during the period when Latimer was working for Hiram Maxim’s U.S. Electric Lighting Company. The patent, submitted by Latimer with fellow Maxim employee Joseph V. Nichols, proposed a new way of clamping carbon strips—the light source inside incandescent glass bulbs—to the wires that supplied electric power to them. This method would end the need for platinum “nuts, screws, or pins... whereby the cost of the lamps is greatly reduced.”Collection
The Lewis H. Latimer Papers (1870-1929, 1972) [QPL Subgroup], Latimer Family Papers (1870-1996 ) [QPL Full Collection]
