This mantle burner was designed to fit into most American-made fonts, but it required constant attention because it often went out of alignment and chimneys were susceptible to cracking. When properly adjusted, the Practicus burner produced a white light with an output equivalent to about 60 candles. Less than a year later, Johnson moved his company to Chicago where he incorporated the Mantle Lamp Company of America in February of 1908. His company obtained the rights to sell the Practicus mantle burner and other foreign-made lamp parts. Johnson also saw the potential for sales, particularly in rural areas where electricity was still many years from widespread adoption. Having studied in poorly lit rooms as a child, Johnson immediately recognized a need for better lighting. Johnson founded and incorporated the Western Lighting Company in Minneapolis, MN in 1907.Īfter seeing the superior light produced by a German kerosene mantle burner called the “Practicus”, Johnson decided to form his own company. The Aladdin Mantle Lamp Company of America Originally sourced from coal tar and shale oils, kerosene was later derived from petroleum, after the first oil well was drilled in Pennsylvania in 1859. Kerosene oil was discovered by Canadian physician Abraham Gesner in the late 1840s The danger associated with the Whaling industry coupled with the declining population of whales and the growing need for more oil leads to the search for a better burning, more abundantly sourced oil. Whale oil was not only not very brightly burning but also was smelly and due it not being very clean burning was dirty and left soot marks not only on the chimney but on the ceilings and surrounding in whatever room it was used. Prior to the invention and widespread use of electric lighting in homes across America, life was illuminated by candlelight and lamps fueled with whale oil.
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