General Information

Serial #

N/A

Part Number

1

Total Parts

3

AKA

N/A

Patents

N/A

General Description

Glass; metal; wood; plastic; felt.

Dimensions

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

Length

25.0 cm

Width

25.0 cm

Height

87.0 cm

Thickness

N/A

Weight

N/A

Diameter

N/A

Volume

N/A

Lexicon

Group

Lighting Technology

Category

Lighting devices

Sub-Category

N/A

Manufacturer

AKA

Unknown

Country

Unknown

State/Province

Unknown

City

Unknown

Context

Country

Canada

State/Province

Quebec

Period

Second half of the 20th century.

Canada

This lamp, given to the donor as a wedding gift in 1961 by a relative, is part of the same lot as the chandelier that originated from the home of M. Elzéar Bédard (1799-1849), who was the first mayor of Quebec City. This house is situated at 55 rue D’Auteuil in Quebec City. The home was originally built in 1842 or 1843 for M. Bédard, but was later purchased sometime in the mid 1920’s by Judge Jules-Arthur Gagné and his wife, Evangeline Garneau. Judge Jules-Arthur Gagné (1882-1956) was a graduate of the Faculté de Droit at Université Laval in 1905 and admitted to the bar in the province of Quebec that same year. In 1925, Judge Gagné was appointed as a lawyer for the bar in the section for Quebec City and in 1932, the same year that he received a doctorate from l’Université Laval, he was elected as president of the bar for the province of Quebec. After 20 years with the bar, Judge Gagné was appointed to the Quebec court of appeals in 1945, a post that he occupied until his death in 1956.

Function

The primary function of this artifact is to provide housing for a lamp bulb and to connect it to an electrical supply in order to provide light. It also serves an ornamental function.

Technical

This lamp is an example of domestic electrical lighting from the mid-1950s. During the 1870’s, two electric lighting technologies emerged onto the world scene: the arc lamp and the incandescent lamp. These two electrical lighting technologies were in direct competition for the same markets and in the 1920’s, the arc lamp lost the technological race to the incandescent bulb, which was smaller, used less energy, and were less costly to produce. By the 1930’s, the incandescent bulb had entrenched itself as the technology of choice for electric lighting needs.

Area Notes

Unknown

Details

Markings

Lettering on metal near interrupter reads: “PRESS/LEVITON/MADE IN U.S.A./660W. 250V”; lettering on sticker near interrupter reads: “CSA Testing Laboratories APPROVED/PORTAE[…]E ELECTRIC LAW/L[…]286 S. A./L. ROSENFELD & CO. INC”.

Missing

The artifact appears complete.

Finish

Glass body with painted interior in shades of gold and brass; wooden base in shades of orange and brown; brass elements; black knob; dark grey felt.

Decoration

Decorative paint on the inside of the glass body in a drip pattern.