Kerosene lamp

The emergence of the kerosene lamp is linked to the attempts to obtain a fuel that would burn brighter and be cheaper than the various kinds of oil and their mixtures used to date, which were intensified in the first half of the 19th century. In Poland, research into this issue was conducted by Ignacy Łukasiewicz. As a result of numerous attempts, he managed to obtain an oil distillate – kerosene – and decided to use it for lighting. He constructed the first kerosene lamp in 1853; however, his first forays into this field came much earlier, during his pharmacy apprenticeship in Łańcut. The owner of the local pharmacy was Antoni Swoboda, for whom the young Łukasiewicz worked between 1836 and 1840. After a four-year apprenticeship, the future creator of the Polish oil industry passed the pharmacy exam and left for Rzeszów and then Lviv, where he continued his experiments. The kerosene lamp he constructed, which was very massive, comprised a cylindrical tin container for kerosene, with a metal pipe with mica windows and holes to ensure a constant flow of air put on it. The wick, which was dipped in the tank, was led through a special hole above the tank into a metal pipe with holes in which it burned. Kerosene lamps became popular as light sources between 1860 and 1865, and soon enough they started resembling oil lamps of the mid-19th century. The most popular models included standing lamps. The lamp has a metal base and a glass container for kerosene in which the burner is screwed. The burner is overlaid with a glass (fireplace) and a lampshade placed on a special frame. Joanna Kluz