We mentioned, in the first part of our work, something in relation to the antiquity of illuminations; but, as this subject may be interesting, we deem the following brief remarks not irrelevant.
Beckman assures us, (History of Inventions), that the origin of illuminations is very ancient. The feasts, or holy-days were celebrated in the days of antiquity, in various ways, among which, that with lamps was very common in Egypt. It was called the feast of the lamps, (Fête des Lampes), and the inhabitants of some cities in Egypt were obliged to illuminate, with a great number of lamps, placed before their houses. Herodotus (lib. ii, chap. 62), remarks, that, at a particular festival of the Egyptians, lamps were placed before all the houses throughout the country, and kept burning the whole night. During the festum encæniorum, the Feast of the Dedication of the Temple, which, according to common opinion, was celebrated in December, and continued eight days, a number of lamps were lighted before each of their houses. Such illuminations were used, also, in Greece and Rome, and were called Lampadaria. An infinite number of lamps were burnt in honour of Minerva, Vulcan, Prometheus, Bacchus, &c. On the last occasion, the illumination was called Lamptericæ. It seems that the lighting of streets had not been adopted at that period.[25] At Rome, the forum was lighted, when games were exhibited in the night-time; and Caligula, on a like occasion, caused the whole city to be lighted. As Cicero was returning home late at night, after Cataline's conspiracy had been defeated, lamps and torches were lighted in all the streets, in honour of that great orator. The emperor Constantine caused the whole city of Constantinople to be illuminated with lamps and wax candles on Easter-eve. The first christians often illuminated their houses on idolatrous festivals, in a more elegant manner than the heathens. This was dictated by policy. The houses of the ancients were illuminated on birth-days, by suspending lamps from chains.
For illuminations at the present day, tallow is chiefly used. It is clarified, for the making of candles, by means of alum. M. Olaine in 1710 presented to the academy of sciences an apparatus for the manufacture of candles. The bougie economique of the French is described in the Journal de Paris for 1782. The outline of the process for preparing them is as follows: Take eight parts of suet, and melt it with one quart of water; and after straining it, and returning it to the same boiler, add the same quantity of water, in which was dissolved half an ounce of saltpetre, as much sal ammoniac, and one ounce of alum. The boiling is continued to evaporate the water. The wick is made of cotton or flax, and rolled in a solution of camphor in petroleum, and afterwards covered in the usual manner with the above composition.
In using tallow generally, quicklime is recommended to be added to it in fusion. When the quicklime subsides, it is poured off. Another mode recommended is to melt the tallow with vinegar, and to add to it a decoction of rosemary, sage, laurel, and a small quantity of turmeric; the whole being boiled until the water is evaporated. This communicates, it is said, an agreeable odour, and a yellow colour. Different modes of preparing tallow for candles have been used. See [sal ammoniac.] With respect to ancient lamps, some account of them has been published in the Antiquities, by Montfaucon and by Passeri; and the Journal des Savants 1682 and 1685 mentions the two lamps of Boyle and Sturmius, and some account of the celebrated lamp of Callimacus in the temple of Minerva. On the formation of lamps, and the purification of oil, sundry patents have been granted both in France and England. The argand lamp for burning its own smoke, which it effects by a glass cylinder placed over the flame, is one of the best improvements of the kind. The principle of these lamps is the same, although variously modified in shape and structure. For chemical purposes, an iron cylinder is substituted for glass. A lamp, for the burning of tar and turpentine, with steam, has lately been invented by Mr. Morey, (see Silliman's Journal Vol. II.) Mr. E. Clarke obtained a patent for a lamp calculated to burn tallow; the principle of which is, that by the heat of the flame, the caloric is conducted to the tallow by means of a piece of iron, which is heated by it, and the tallow melts as it is wanted. This lamp may be economically used, when common lamp oil is scarce and high in price. A lamp is described in the Repository of Arts, to burn tallow.
As a wick, besides cotton, several substances have been recommended. The filaments of amianthus, for instance, while they perform the office of a wick, are incombustible. The Journal de Verdun for 1748, announced incombustible wick by sieur Lespar. Touch wood, the tussilago sarfara, and the verbascum tapsus of Linnæus, are also recommended. In 1783, Leger announced, in the Journal de la Blancherie, that he had invented a match which would burn without smoke and odour.
Lamps have been furnished with fixed and moveable mirrors, to throw the light forward by reflection. The reverberatory lamps, revolving lights for light houses, &c. are of this kind. Many patents have been obtained for such contrivances, which we have not room to notice.
The inflammable air lamp for the table, described in the Dictionnaire de l'Industrie, is nothing more than a spirit of wine lamp, and used in lieu of hot bricks, or vessels filled with boiling water for the warming of dishes, &c. In 1780, M. Ehrman, in his Description et usage de quelques lampes à air inflammable, describes a chafing dish with inflammable air, invented by Nevet, which operates by the combustion of hydrogen gas.[26]
Fixed illuminations are more brilliant and more magnificent; as the lights are more numerous, as well as more diversified. Wax, spermaceti, or tallow candles, or oil burnt in tin lamps, or in glass cups suspended by wire, are all used for the purpose. If the wick be dipped in spirit of turpentine, it will take fire instantaneously. It is unnecessary to make any remarks as to the arrangement of lights.
Large dishes containing melted tallow, and a wick proportionally thick and suspended by means of a simple contrivance of tin, are recommended for the same purpose. Coloured lights afford a variety. The appearance of coloured flame may be produced by burning the oil in coloured glasses, so disposed as to let the light pass through the glass, or by placing lamps behind bottles filled with coloured water.[27]