Accession Number

983.133.001

Alternate Name

fragment

Description

One brass fragment of a gas lighting fixture. At the bottom is a gas valve key in the form of a foliate wreath. It has an upturned tube with two types of machined brass threading. A horizontal brass tube extends from the valve and each end has a threaded bolt with a round finial at its end. A semi-circular brass tube assembly rises up from the horizontal bar. Each tube has a threaded end.

Narrative

This is part of a ceiling-mounted gas lighting fixture used by the Dunsmuir Family at Craigdarroch Castle. 

This fragment's history of Dunsmuir family use at Craigdarroch makes it an important part of the museum's collection.

History of Use

This light fixture component was manufactured in North America during the late 1880s. In 1890, it was installed at an unknown location at Craigdarroch Castle. Sometime after 1908, it was removed and placed in the upper attic or possibly in a basement crawlspace of the Castle. In July of 1975 when Bruce Davies was hired as a guide for The Castle Society, he observed that this light fixture component and a large quantity of other lighting fixture fragments were being stored in the drawers beneath the library bookcases.  Some light fixture fragments were being displayed inside a library bookcase with a label stating that the fragments had been found in the Castle's attic.  Davies was told by James K. Nesbitt that all of the light fixture fragments had been found in the attic or crawlspace.

On June 14 2006, former Craigdarroch Castle guide John Rogers was interviewed for the Craigdarroch Castle Society Oral History Project. He said this about the Society's collection of lighting components found in the Castle:

Rogers:    "It was really very memorable, and we did get a chance to not only interact with the tourists and with each other, but do some explorations.  And I remember the… of course there was always the interactions with the kids who used to come by, the neighbourhood kids, and visit.  There was a group of kids that wanted to do things and we got into this process of ‘well, let’s explore and see what is down in the basement in that crawl space area’, and oh dear, that was in the days when you never gave a consideration for asbestos or dust or whatever and it was very, very dusty.  But we found some great things.  I think they are in the display cases now, the cigarette cases – the old Player’s cigarette cartons, bits and pieces of the gas lighting, and I recall maybe even newspaper clippings.  I guess that was probably during, from what I recall, the time when it was a convalescent home, after the Dunsmuirs."

Davies:    "Where did you find the gas fixtures? The gas pieces?"

Rogers:    "There were two places.  There were little bits down in the basement but then there was also up in the attic, so we took the ladder up, the trap door in the ballroom, that’s where we found most of the old gaslight fixtures."

Davies:    "Where did you find gas shades?"

Rogers:    "I think it was there. I’m pretty sure it was all up in the attic there. I don’t know why.  It was kind of an odd place to find them but that’s where they were."

Date

circa 1889

Material

Metal, brass

Technique

Cast; Machined