General Information

Serial #

N/A

Part Number

1

Total Parts

1

AKA

N/A

Patents

N/A

General Description

brass shell/ synthetic parts

Dimensions

Note: These reflect the general size for storage and are not necessarily representative of the object's true dimensions.

Length

5.4 cm

Width

3.5 cm

Height

5.0 cm

Thickness

N/A

Weight

N/A

Diameter

N/A

Volume

N/A

Lexicon

Group

Energy-electric

Category

User site

Sub-Category

N/A

Manufacturer

AKA

Thomson Houston

Country

United States of America

State/Province

Massachusetts

City

Lynn

Context

Country

North America

State/Province

Unknown

Period

late 19th century

Canada

An example of an American made socket of a type used in Canada. Part of a large & varied collection of over 7500 electrical items acquired & documented by Ontario Hydro in the 1960s. The collection was thought to be the largest & most comprehensive of its kind in Canada & was donated to the National Museum of Science & Technology in 1992.

Function

An electrical wiring device used to support & connect to electricity a lamp or other electrical device, specifically a pilot light.

Technical

An example of a Thomson-Houston socket of the late 1880s. From 1880 to 1889 other methods of supporting lamps appeared besides the Edison screw socket & receptacle, including the Thomson-Houston, the Westinghouse & the bayonet types. 1890 to 1899 was a period during which the details of wiring devices which had appeared in the previous decade were improved. Keys were added to lamp sockets & receptacles. Where the lamp switch was controlled by the wall or base switch, the socket could remain keyless; otherwise the light switch had to be incorporated within the socket utilizing as its switching mechanism the key, pull-chain or push-button (Ref.4). A simple arrangement which did not require the service of a mechanic to change a lamp was a necessity for commercial production of electric lamp sockets. In 1880 Edison introduced the screw cap which still bears his name. Holders with switches were Edison's original design. Much of the demand for these was left over from the days of lighting with gas and it took people some time to become accustomed to switching on the lights at the door. When portable lamps were introduced, the demand for switched sockets was reinforced (Ref. 3).

Area Notes

Unknown

Details

Markings

incised lettering on shell reads "MANF. BY T-H. E. CO./ LYNN, MASS. U.S.A./ PATENTED MAY 17.1887/ PATENTS APPLIED FOR"

Missing

appears complete

Finish

gold coloured shell/ brown synthetic

Decoration

N/A