English Victorian Ten-Light Chandelier in Brass with Glass Chimneys, circa 1870

Drop is 25" without the chimneys x 58" in diameter. A ten-light chandelier in hand-hammered brass with glass chimneys. England, circa 1860-1880. Manufacturer stamped on gas cocks. "Made in England Duplex." This chandelier was originally a Duplex double burner Paraffin Lamp which employed two parallel wicks. araffin lamps were introduced in the 1860s, superseding lamps burning colza oil. Paraffin was clean, it did not clog up the works and most importantly, all that was needed to deliver it to the burner was the capillary action of a good cotton wick. Although paraffin had been extracted from oil shale in Scotland in the 1840s, it was not until oil started gushing out of the ground in Tennessee and Texas in 1859 that it became cheap and plentiful enough for widespread commercial use. New lamp designs. The next 20 years saw countless improvements and variations in the design of oil lamps. In England one of the most influential was the duplex burner which used two parallel wicks - a system still employed in modern paraffin lamps. Creator: English Duplex (Manufacturer) Of the Period: Late Victorian Place of Origin: England Date of Manufacture: circa 1870 Period: 1860-1869 Materials and Techniques: Hammered Brass, Glass Condition: Good. Globes can be fitted over hurricane fittings. This chandelier is also listed with original cranberry glass globes for $6950.