Kerosene lamps • Stylmark

An unusual story

The kerosene lamp was invented in 1853 by Ignacy Łukasiewicz, a Polish chemist and pharmacist, and later an entrepreneur and a social worker, coming from an impoverished noble family from Podkarpacie. He made Poland and Poles famous with this invention and it was this invention that changed the world and started the era of better lighting available on a large scale.

The first kerosene lamp flared on July 31, 1853, illuminating the operating room of the Piarist hospital in Lviv. Władysław Cholecki, operated patient, had bad luck. To this day, it is not known exactly what disease has knocked him out. It is only certain that in the evening of July 31, 1853, he came to the hospital in Lviv and required urgent surgery. The patient’s misfortune laid in the fact that when the doctor decided there was a need for immediate surgery it was already dark outside. And 160 years ago, it meant that you had to wait until the morning with the intervention of the surgeon. Cholecki was also very lucky. His surgeon, Zaorski, did not gave up but decided to try out the latest invention, which was still not heard of in Lviv. That night, the strong light of an kerosene lamp was lit in the halls of the Lviv Main Hospital. The operation was successful, Władysław Cholecki recovered and probably led a normal life. The nighttime duty of the Lviv surgeons started to make sense. The life of the inventor Ignacy Łukasiewicz has changed irretrievably.

(Source: IgnacyLukasiewicz.pl)

In the following months, thanks to the involvement and entrepreneurship of Ignacy Łukasiewicz, kerosene lamps and paraffin itself, being a source of new, better light started to reach mansions, houses and under the thatched roofs as well as offices, banks, factories and streets. The world’s first street kerosene lamp burned in Podkarpacie, Gorlice, at the intersection of Węgierska and Kościuszki streets, and the inventor himself, Ignacy Łukasiewicz, moved from Lwów to Bóbrka in Podkarpacie to continue research work and launch paraffin production on an industrial scale in the mine, which he there launched.

Few know that this man, apart from active scientific and then mining activity, was also a great patriot and social worker – as a support in 1866 he founded the first insurance institution in Poland and this part of Europe, and at the same time a workers’ union under the name “Kasa Bracka”, creating in this way a financial support tool for the poorest.

The period of the highest prevalence of kerosene lamps is dated to 1860-1920. The light of the kerosene lamp was not much better than a long known oil lamp or a water boiler, but the fuel was easily accessible and cheap, thanks to which it became a massive lighting medium that even the poor population could afford. The kerosene lamps were still being refined, and their new lenses in 1855 were patented by the Viennese Rudolf Dittmar. His label soon became the largest plant in the entire Empire, and in Europe more started to emerge: in Budapest “Lampagyar”, Leipzig “Hugo Schneider”, Germany “Carl Holy”, “Wild and Wessel”, “Rosa Brenner”, “Otto Miller”, “Kaestner and Toebelmann” and France “Bec Gladiator”.

In the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, every house had an kerosene lamp. There were lamps available in various shapes and sizes, from simple, stable, to exclusive, richly decorated, which only wealthy people could afford. They illuminated private and public spaces, often being a symbol of wealth and style.

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Kerosene lamps today

Today the fashion for kerosene lamps is returning. Although we have access to electricity, the lighted kerosene lamp gives the interior a unique charm and vibe, which cannot be achieved with an electric lamp. Handmade of high quality brass, glass, and sometimes natural stone lamp is an artistic product, which is an extremely noble accent in the interior. It perfectly adorns stylish interiors and, as part of fashion for eclecticism, it also blends in with contemporary and even modern interiors, introducing an intriguing accent and a breath of nostalgia.

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Discover the elements of a kerosene lamp

Sandblasted lampshade, decorated with a floral pattern and a colorless fireplace are mounted on a brass burner, which has a wick regulation. Sandblasted, kerosene tank decorated in a floral pattern, is located on a richly decorated brass leg. The basic elements of a kerosene lamp are:

kerosene tank mounted on the base,
burner with knob and wick,
glass shade,
glass fireplace.

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How to start a kerosene lamp?

Despite seeming quite difficult it is very simple. All that has to be done is:

unscrew the brass burner,
using a funnel pour paraffin to the middle of the tank – paraffin intended exclusively for kerosene lamps,
close the burner and wait a few minutes for the wick to soak up with kerosene,
use a brass knob on the torch to set a small wick height,
light the wick with matches or a lighter,
put on a glass chimney and then a shade on their places.

The intensity of the flame depends on the height of the wick. You can reduce or increase it using the knob. Flame cannot be too high because it can lead to incorrect burning of kerosene.

Each kerosene lamp from the Stylmark collection is new, efficient and can be used immediately after filling with a refined paraffin-oil tank.
Kerosene suited for use in kerosene lamps can be found in the Stylmark offer. Every kerosene lamp includes instruction manual.

What to take care of while using a kerosene lamp?

Filled with kerosene and lighted lamp should be kept in a stable safe place away from children and animals.
A lit kerosene lamp must not be left without a chimney and lampshade and without careful observation.
If paraffin is ingested by children, just one sip can lead to serious problems. If the paraffin used in kerosene lamp gets swallowed, immediately contact your doctor and do not try to induce vomit.

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