Gas was a popular and economical method of lighting common throughout the 19th century. Retailers relied on gas lighting to illuminate walkways, store fronts and building interiors before the advent of electricity made doing so simpler, safer and brighter.
The notion of burning various fuels to produce artificial light is as old as fire itself. However, open flames were impractical and the light they generated was dim at best. Lanterns that burned liquid fuels were an upgrade in terms of safety and light quality, but it wasn’t until gas was harnessed as a power source that lighting made its most meaningful advance.
The burning of combustible gasses as a means to produce artificial light was first recognized by William Murdoch, an employee of the Soho Foundry steam engine works in Birmingham, England. In 1790, Murdoch used goal gas to light his home and later the main building of the foundry where he worked.
Urban areas throughout England soon recognized the benefits of using gas to light streets and by the first quarter of the 19th century major cities and towns throughout Europe were reliant on gas street lamps. The expense of gas lighting limited its use to cities, business and wealthy homeowners until later in the 19th century.
Around that time the efficiency of gas lighting would make a major step forward with the introduction of a device known as a ‘mantle’ that allowed the burning gas to create a brighter light. The device also allowed gas lighting to remain relevant longer than it might have otherwise and to fend off competition from newly emerging electrical lighting technology, which was unproven and thought to be unsafe at the time.
The usage of gas lighting remained common in developed nations during the early part of the 20th century, but it gradually succumbed to the more efficient, brighter and safer electrical lighting. Today, gas lighting serves primarily as an ornamental function to evoke images of a bygone era.
Contribution to Retail History
Gas lighting and the illumination it provided to public space changed urban lifestyles and consequently the retail industry. Streetlights made previously dark roadways and walkways safe and inviting during evening hours. Pedestrians and operators of carriages and later vehicles gained the freedom to engage in activities such as shopping that had previously been reserved for daylight hours. Retailers were beneficiaries of gas lighting because they could extend operating hours to accommodate more customers and shift administrative tasks to non-operating hours.