These days the lamps in our homes are likely to be illuminated by spiral-shaped, energy-saving fluorescent bulbs. It has seemed like quite a change for us, after a lifetime of using the old incandescent light bulbs. But we'll get used to it. After all, lamps in American households have undergone many changes over the years.

Back in the 18th century lamps burned animal fats like lard and whale oil. When somebody finally came up with kerosene, (refined from crude petroleum from America's first oil wells,) people were thrilled with the improvement. Millions of kerosene lamps were made. (They're still being made, and those of us who live in "hurricane country" are glad to have one or two on hand for emergencies!)

By the time the last decades of the 19th century rolled around, gas fixtures had arrived on the lighting scene and again, America rethought the methods of illumination they'd become accustomed to. Gas lighting was such a vast improvement that before too long nearly all of the homes and businesses in urban areas were lighting with gas. This happened at the height of the Victorian era, and it stands to reason that with the Victorian love of extravagant decor, lighting fixtures would be extraordinarily ornamental!

The demand for fancy fixtures was great, and at first the majority of them were manufactured in England and France. The United States followed and by the last quarter of the century were producing a fair share of gas fixtures.

Victorian homes often featured broad, beautiful staircases and folks had long since figured out that the newel post at the base of the stairs offered a perfect spot for a lamp. Some early newel post lamps burned oil or paraffin. But the new gas-powered technology offered a broader market for staircase decor...the fancier the better!

The lamps of choice were often several feet tall. Although gas lights were, in principle, quite uncomplicated - a plain brass, copper or iron gas supply tube, an on-off switch and a shade or globe to diffuse the light - things were rarely that simple during the days of good Queen Victoria, and the gas light offered many opportunities for embellishment. Staircases in those days often featured what was known as a "femme-fleur" lamp. This was a cast metal newel post lamp in the form of a woman, accented with sinuous reeds and flowers. The gas fixtures were housed neatly in the flower blossoms.

Most of the newel post figural lamps which have survived until the twenty-first century are made from a white-colored metal known as "pot metal" or "spelter". The lamps usually feature an attractive brass or bronze-like finish. Just as people were becoming comfortable spending their evenings in the comforting flickering glow of their ornate gas lights, along came Thomas Alva Edison with his electric light! At first the incandescent bulbs were considered a novelty. In fact, many new homes continued to be built with gas lighting right up until the First World War. Fortunately for those folks who had invested in the elaborate Art Nouveau inspired newel post lamps, converting them to electricity was fairly easy. Electric wires replaced the gas supply tubes and bulbs took the place of gas jets.

Today's owners of Victorian homes seek out authentic fixtures. eBay lists a few newel post lamps most days.

Recent offerings included a fifty-six inch tall representation of a bronze child holding aloft a frosted glass globe, this lamp was advertised as "not electrified but easily could be." The price was $4,250.00. A French electric newel post lamp showed a youth atop a leaping dolphin. The signed piece was designed by Ernest Justin Ferrand and featured the original amber colored bulbs. The height was not given but the price was just $750.00. An Art Nouveau inspired late Victorian (around 1900) electric newel post lamp featured a graceful dancing girl and four lights. This figure was painted with enamels. It was thirty-eight inches tall and listed for $2,800.

The lamps are usually on the pricey side, but certainly lend an air of authenticity to the Victorian staircase, or used simply as a piece of period sculpture bring a unique character to any room.

Spelter to Statuary

An 1873 book on America's industries describes the manufacture of those ornate Victorian gas lamps. It was not a simple process!

The lamp began with an artist's "modelier" recreated the design in 3-dimensional wax That model was then passed along to the "caster." That person made a mold of the wax figure in brass and then handed it over to the "chaser." When the chaser got copy, he refined the design. Using special steel chisels he deepened the lines, making veins in leaves more distinct, bringing feathers of birds and fur of animals into sharp focus. Then the finished cast was sent to the "casting room" where many, of craftsmen were employed. The reporter of 1873 describes the room this way:

"The heat from the furnace is very great, and becomes almost stifling, in conjunction with the sulfurous fumes of the liquid mass of mingled copper and spelter, forming brass which is glowing and seething in black lead crucibles placed in the midst of fiery anthracite." , In this hellish setting the casters worked at sandfilled wooden troughs. The crucibles were emptied into molds, cooled in damp sand. The castings then went to the "filing department." Rough spots were filed. Sometimes, at this point, a number of casting parts had to be soldered together to form one complete image. (This was a critical process. The joints had to be perfect because gas could escape through any tiny hole.) The piece was filed again and then it proceeded to the "dipping room" where it was cleaned by dipping it into various acid baths. Then the piece was washed and then dipped into a mixture of chemicals called "ormolu." By this time it had become a rich gold color. Next came a process involving a galvanized battery and a bar of silver. This process put a fine coat of silver on the article. Then came the "burnishing," where careful polishing and buffing highlighted parts of the design.

Not finished yet! Next came lacquering. The article was heated on a hot stove, then taken to a special table where lacquer was applied with a fine, flat brush. Some of the largest pieces were actually submerged in a lacquer vat and quickly slung back and forth for an even coating. The lacquering process preserved the gold color.

This labor-intensive manufacturing process probably accounts for the remarkably good condition of many newel post lamps which have survived all of these intervening years since their creation.

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