Oak Hill Cottage was built c. 1847 but is restored to the 1870s because of the extant furnishings of the period passed down from the Dr. Jones family. I have an interest in the authenticity of the lighting in the cottage; that it should represent the quality and level of light from the available gaslights of that time
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You will see the use of a droplight pendant, one of two found at Oak Hill, in this video. This is an accessory tube that fits on a gasolier burner and brings a gaslight down to reading level. Such droplights were shown in a few old fixture catalogs, but I have yet to see one in use in a period photograph.
In the video you will see each of three burner types in use: the fishtail, the Argand, and a single jet. The National Park Service book Gaslighting in America states that the most light output of a burner such as these prior to the development of the incandescent mantle gaslight in 1890 was about 10 to 15 watt electric bulb equivalent.
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