General Information

Serial #

N/A

Part Number

1

Total Parts

1

AKA

N/A

Patents

N/A

General Description

porcelain base/ brass shell & parts/ copper/ mica

Dimensions

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

Length

N/A

Width

N/A

Height

7.1 cm

Thickness

N/A

Weight

N/A

Diameter

6.1 cm

Volume

N/A

Lexicon

Group

Energy-electric

Category

User site

Sub-Category

N/A

Manufacturer

AKA

HUBBELL

Country

Unknown

State/Province

Unknown

City

Unknown

Context

Country

North America

State/Province

Unknown

Period

early 20th century

Canada

An example of a receptacle 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 provide a point at which power can be drawn from a wiring system by means of a plug .

Technical

An example of a receptacle of circa 1915. 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 (Ref. 3). 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. Lamp 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 holders was reinforced in spite of frequent efforts by engineers & insurance interests to discourage it (Ref. 2). Edison had the idea for a light socket while screwing the cap on a kerosene can. It has the advantage of firmly seating the bulb without having to snap, pull or otherwise jar the lamp and its delicate filament. There were rival lamps before 1900, each with its own base, but Edison's base had 70% of the market in the early 1900s (Ref. 4).

Area Notes

Unknown

Details

Markings

incised lettering on shell reads "HARVEY HUBBELL/ AUG. 11 90/ MAY 8 00/ JULY 30 01/ FEB. 18 02/ 250 V. 50 C.P"/ raised lettering reading "HUBBELL"

Missing

appears complete

Finish

glazed white porcelain/ gold coloured shell/ metallic parts

Decoration

N/A