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Chelsea, Michigan, circa 1901. "Glazier Stove Company -- lamp stove department." Our second glimpse today into the Dickensian workings of Glazier Stove. 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Co. View full size.
Those are sheets of mica on his right, flame and fireproof natural minerals, used by almost all lamp and stove makers right up to today.
At the time these were made, the automobile was just taking off, and with it the autocamp, where people would stop while traveling. As you can imagine, these early camps didn't have electrical hookups, so this would be a handy, maybe essential item.
Love the infinitely adjustable lighting fixture, all it takes is a wire, a socket, and a piece of string. Although I think OSHA just had a stroke.
Those little porcelain cleat type insulators holding the wires for the light fixtures are cool!
Good stuff Dave. Keep'em coming.
Strange to see actual manufacturing jobs in America.
[The U.S. of A. is still the biggest producer of manufactured goods on Planet Earth. - Dave]
Full domestic electrification was still over two decades out, even in cities. In rural areas, it took until the early '50s. The first appliance purchase of a newly-electrified household was invariably an iron, as electric irons could be reliably expected not to put soot on freshly-laundered garments.
And no, I'd never heard of a lamp stove, either. I want one!
Here are a couple other views, "as intended" and "as is"
Thanks, Dave! Once again, I've learned something new here. When I read the caption, I thought "okay, what the heck is a lamp stove?" It's amazing the things that show up here. A few days back it was charabancs and now lamp stoves.
Turns out these handy devices were heaters, stoves, or lamps or all three at once. Fueled with kerosene, they heated fast and were economical to use. Imagine trying to heat a flatiron on a wood stove; the time and cost would be dreadful, but with a lamp stove, it'd be a snap. there's a short piece about them here. I wonder if somebody still makes them.
Thanks for adding a tiny bit to my appreciation of yesteryear.
Should it be ironic foreshadowing that the room where they appear to be making oil lamps is lit up by electric light?
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