Hitchcock Lamp

Hitchcock Lamp
The Hitchcock Lamp was invented by Robert Hitchcock. It was first patented on February 26,1868.

Robert Hitchcock at the time was living in Bristol, Conn. There the lamp was first produced and marketed. He moved back to Watertown, Jefferson County, New York in 1872 with a capital of $100,000. and the Hitchcock Lamp company was incorporated, Roswell P. Flower as a major stockholder. Robert supervised the building of a factory for the production of his lamps. This building in later years became the New York Air Brake shop.

In 1876 he was producing what was to become known as the "Hitchcock lamp". This lamp was known throughout America and abroad as the most commonly renowned mechanical lamp. The average height was 12 1/2 " by a width of 5 1/4". The motor mechanism was housed in the wide base with a wind up fan to cut down on smoke. The horizontally mounted fan was run by a clock - work spring mechanism. It drew air from the base through the stem upward to the burner. There was a draft defector that with the burner could produce a flame without the need for a chimney. The lamp was wound like a clock with a key at the base and would run for a period of 10 to 14 hours before it needed to be rewound.

The lamp was made of pressed brass and originally it was nickel plated. The first lamps were made as table lamps, but they also made hanging lamps and bracket lamps with reflectors for the wall. They were produced between 1876 to 1905 with a new improved version of the lamp with the patent dates of July 20,1886, Dec. 17,1895 & Feb. 28,1899 which read made in the U.S.A. Watertown, New York. The main reason they stopped producing the lamp was the high cost of manufacturing it.