J. Swift, 43 University St., London W.C., Registered
Portable microscope lamp, c. 1874
The following was extracted from The Microscope and its Revelations by W. B. Carpenter, 5th Edition, 1875:
Swift's
Portable Microscope Lamp. -- Every
Microscopist who desires to exhibit his objects by
artificial light elsewhere than at his own home, has
desired a lamp suitable for this purpose, adjustable to
any height, and capable of being packed in a small
compass and of being carried in any position without
spilling the liquid it burns. This desideratum now
supplied by Mr. Swift, who has devoted much ingenuity
to the construction of such a lamp; the special
difficulty being to prevent leakage from the passage
through which the wick rises, without interfering with
the ascent of the fluid. The lamp (Fig. 447) is mounted
on a telescope-pillar, which supports it steadily at
any height from 4 to 12 inches; and this is screwed
into a tripod foot. By pushing in the telescope -
pillar, unscrewing the tripod, and inverting it over
the chimney (Fig. 448), the lamp
can be packed into a tube
7 1/2 inches long and 1 3/8 inches in diameter. It
gives a good flame, and burns for two hours. The size
of the reservoir might of course be increased, so as to
enable the lamp to burn longer; but this would add to
the bulk of its case.
The firm James Swift,
London was located at the address shown above from
1872-1881. By 1877, the firm was called James Swift
& Son. This lamp must therefore date prior to this
name change. See: The James Swift & Son business
timeline.