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Whale oil lamp

United States

1830-1860

Measurements

7-1/2 in x 4 in (dia)

Materials

Painted tinned sheet iron, brass burner

Credit Line

Historic Odessa Foundation, gift of H. Rodney Sharp

Accession Number

1959.3871

Condition Notes

The lamp has lost almost all of its paint.

Provenance

Ex coll. H. Rodney Sharp

Comments

The lamp has an ovoid oil reservoir atop a cylindrical shaft with two double rings.  It stands on a domed base, the edges of which are folded over a metal disk bottom.  The outside bottom retains a copper-toned finish that may have covered the black paint on the rest of the lamp.  A single-wick burner for whale oil screws into the top of the reservoir.

The lamp was originally painted black, often referred to as japanning.