OCTOBER, 2019
GASLIGHTS
By: Liese Sherwood-Fabre
Turn the Lights
While superior to candles and oil
Low
lamps, gaslights faced a powerful competi-
tor in the incandescent electric lamp. De-
In the movie spite gas’ head start, electric lighting of-
Meet Me in St. fered some advantages. Gas pressure was
Louis, Judy Gar- not always reliable, and explosions and
land’s character, fires did occur, which Edison and other
Esther
Smith, electric light advocates were quick to point
suggests to a out when promoting their own electrical
young man he power grids and lights (4). For about
accompany her twenty years, many buildings had dual-fuel
as she turns off fixtures (gas and electric) until electricity
the gas lamps in her house. They find finally won out following William Coo-
themselves in the dark—where another lidge’s creation of the far superior tungsten
type of spark ignites. The gaslight era may -filament lamp. (5)
have passed, but it still offers a sense of
During its heyday, gaslights served as
nostalgia and romance in writers’ and read- an instrument of both economic develop-
ers’ imagination.
ment and social control. Streetlamps re-
The first commercial gas was manufac- duced the darkness needed for criminal
tured by heating coal in a sealed oven to activity, allowing for more commerce dur-
keep out the oxygen, filtering it for purifi- ing the evening hours. (6) They also, how-
cation, pressurizing it, and piping to a fix- ever, became associated with a different
ture where it was ignited, (1) and was first type of malicious endeavor. The term “gas
used to light gas lamps inside the Soho lighting” refers to an abuser who manipu-
Foundry in England in 1798 (2). The use lates the truth, making the victim question
of such lighting took off after 1807 when his/her own sanity. It originated from a
London’s Pall Mall received the first street- play, where a husband lowered and raised
lamps. These lamps were on posts and had the gaslights in his house to make his wife
to be lit by hand each night by a lamp- believe she was seeing things. (7)
lighter who opened a valve to let out just
Despite the rise of electric lights, gas
enough gas to be ignited without explod- lamps have not been completely elimi-
ing. Residential and business use followed nated. London still has 1500 working gas
by extending the pipes laid for street light- streetlamps, although they no longer re-
ing. (3)
quire a lamp lighter, having switched to
electric timers. (8) Other places, including
some historic homes, have
also continued to light
areas with gas because of
its nostalgic effect. (9) De-
spite the demise of its
overall popularity, gas
lights still offer a charm
not possible from the electric bulb.
(1) https://www.thespruce.com/the-
gaslight-era-21750
(2) http://www.historyoflamps.com/lamp-
history/history-of-gas-lamps/:
(3) http://www.historyoflamps.com/lamp-
history/history-of-gas-lamps/:
(4) http://www.kstc.co.uk/josephswan/
compare.html
(5) http://americanhistory.si.edu/
lighting/19thcent/comp19.htm
(6) https://www.theguardian.com/
lifeandstyle/2009/oct/31/life-before-
artificial-light
(7) https://www.pri.org/stories/2016-10-
14/heres-where-gaslighting-got-its-name
(8) https://www.guidelondon.org.uk/
blog/around-london/11-interesting-facts-
about-london-gas-
lamps/
(9) https://
en.wikipedia.org/
wiki/Gas_lighting
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