Oil-Wick Miner’s Lamp Patent Model
National Museum of American History

Oil-Wick Miner’s Lamp Patent Model

Dowd, W. G. · 1869-05-25

overall: 3 in x 3 1/4 in x 2 in; 7.62 cm x 8.255 cm x 5.08 cm
National Museum of American History
CC0 — Public Domain
National Museum of American History

This oil-wick lamp is a patent model constructed by W. G. Dowd of Scranton, Pennsylvania that received patent number 90,434, on May 25, 1869. The patent filing is for the wick raiser on this lamp seen on the outside of the spout. Dowd claimed as his invention “a wire bent over the outer edge of the wicktube with its outer portion sliding in the guide, and its inner portion bent to form an eye to which are hung the fork,” so as to raise the wick by the sliding of the wire.

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