Oil lamp timekeeper

From Object Wiki

Oil lamp timekeeper
Manufacturer	(unknown)
Production years	18th century
Production location	North Germany

An eighteenth-century oil clock from North Germany.

[edit] How it works

It consists of a pewter stand and lamp, the reservoir of which is of glass and graduated from 8 p.m. to 7 a.m. to indicate the hours of the night by the quantity of unburnt oil left in the reservoir. No approach to accuracy could have been obtained with this lamp, which has an egg-shaped reservoir and an equally divided scale over its full length. Some lamps of this type, however, have reservoirs which are cylindrical except for the ends.

[edit] Memories

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[edit] In the Science Museum's Records

Inv. No 1926-233