- Origin: Germany
- Producer: Wilhelm Seippel
- Date: 1870
- Height: 9,7 cm
- Diameter: 8,25 cm
This is the so-called Frösch (frog) lamp which was used mostly in the iron mines since 1820. The lamp was lit using a wick connected to a closed oil reservoir. Miners could hang the lamp inside the mine to light up the tunnel or carry it by the hook. It was a very popular method for bringing light into the darkness of the mines in Germany and also in the United States.
Even though it was safer than lamps with an open oil reservoir, such a lamp was still dangerous to use because the oil was supplied directly to the wick resulting in an open flame. This could ignite flammabale gases like methane inside the mine and cause an explosion. This oil lamp was used in the early mining, until the invention of safety lamps, such as Davy lamp, and was rarely used in the Dutch mines.
Created by: Anna Bashuk
CC AttributionCreative Commons Attribution
Comments