Name/Title
Oil-wick HeadlampEntry/Object ID
MW.0160Description
Small metal oil-wick, or "teapot", headlamp with wick stuffed inside.Context
This kind of headlamp was the first lighting innovation to supplant candles in underground mining. The lamp hooked onto the front of a miner's canvas cap, and was filled with cheap oil, like kerosene, and/or sometimes household fats like lard. A fabric wick extending from the teapot spout was then lit. This was the primer head-worn miner's light until the advent of carbide lamps in the early 1900s.Collection
Coal Mining Tools, Fred Barkey CollectionParts
Count
2Parts
metal lamp, fabric wick insideMaterials
Material
Copper, Metal, CottonMaterial Notes
wick may be another material
