A HERITAGE OF LIGHT: LAMPS AND LIGHTING IN THE EARLY CANADIAN HOME. by Russell, Loris S - 1968

Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1968. 344 pp, square (8 1/2" H x 8 1/2" D). B&w photographs, reproductions. "The nineteenth century opened in the flicker of tallow candles. It closed in the glare of Edison's electric lamp. Between those two events inventors and manufacturers developed a wonderful assortment of progressively more efficient lighting devices, burning a variety of fuels. Dr. Russell records with scientific attention to detail - backed up with more than 200 illustrations - how these lamps were made and used. His text is interspersed with accounts of his own experiments with the fuels and mechanisms of earlier generations. The discovery of kerosene is related in full, as is the invention of successively improved kerosene burners, lamps, and chimneys - a field up to now neglected by technological historians. Separate chapters deal with rushlights and candles; firelighting tools; pan lamps; and lamps fuelled with whale oil, lard, burning fluid, gas, and electricity. There is an extensive glossary." Interior - clean and tight, with no previous ownership marks. Exterior - moderate edge wear, corner crease at bottom of front cover, minor rubbing/scuffing, light toning to top and fore-edge of text block, spine flat and uncreased. . First Edition. Soft Cover. Good+.