It is curious that Anna Gowan did not use lamps. She had the means to buy them and lamps were available in Ontario as early as 1825. In that year Nelson Walker of Toronto listed himself as an importer of “tea urns, lamps, lustres, etc.” By the time Anna Gowan immigrated to Ontario, newspapers and mercantile directories often carry ads for lamps. Hardware dealer Charles Jenkins of Kingston offered “table lamps, hanging and other lamps” for sale in 1845. In 1851, James Briggs, jr. was operating what he called a “lamp store” at the corner of Yonge and King streets in Toronto. The same year George Savage, also of Toronto, advertised “the largest stock of solar lamps in the province, with an assortment of shades, chimneys and wicks.” Savage & Company's parent store was in Montreal and became Birks Jewellers.
Lamp oil also appears in mid-nineteenth century ads. In 1845, W. J. Martin offered “sperm, olive and lard oils” for sale. He also advertised “sperm, lard and tallow candles”. It was quite common for the same merchant to deal in both lamp oil and candles. Sperm oil was the more expensive than lard oil. In 1864 winter pressed sperm oil was listed at $1.70 a gallon compared to 80¢ a gallon for No. 1 lard oil.
Olive oil appears in several ads I have seen but it is hard to say whether it was commonly used. Russell suggests that it was not (Russell 1968: 66). Nonetheless, in 1845 J. W. Brent, chemist and druggist offered for sale “1000 gallons of fine olive lamp oil”. Olive oil must have continued in use as “olive oil for lamps and machinery” was still being offered for sale in Toronto in 1857. This last reference may suggest that olive oil was used for industrial lighting purposes such as railway and ship lamps.
Fluid burning lamps also turn up in newspaper ads. In 1856 James Barker of Markham advertised “burning fluid” at five shillings a gallon (five shillings = $1.00). He also advertised “five barrels of superior burning fluid and a lot of lamps to suit”. In the same year H. P. Crosby of Markham who sold “soap and candles” also advertised “Pitcher’s fluid lamps”.
Burning fluid was developed as a cheaper alternative to sperm oil. But at $1.00 a gallon it was hardly a bargain although cheaper than the $1.50 to $1.70 a gallon paid by Chief Justice John Beverley Robinson for sperm oil. Burning fluid had the advantage of having a bright flame but it was explosive.
Much of our knowledge of lamp usage in Ontario prior to the availability of coal oil comes from ads like these. But ads tell us only what lamps were available to purchase. They do not indicate how widely they were used or by whom. Perhaps the fact that Anna Gowan did not use lamps is indicative of a larger trend and that lamp usage was rare in Ontario prior to coal oil even among the well-to-do.
The Introduction of coal oil
One of the earliest ads relating to coal oil is reproduced in Oil Lamps, the Kerosene Era in North America. It dates to October 24, 1857 and offers for sale by Willis Jones and Company the patent rights to an "entirely new light”. This and the ad below are the earliest reference to coal oil in Ontario of which I am aware.
These two ads provide a date for introduction of coal oil to Ontario. The ad placed by Mulholland and Co. is interesting because it is for coal oil manufactured from coal. The commercial production of coal oil from coal predates its production from petroleum by about five years (Russell 1968: 134-35). Their ad would seem to indicate that coal-based coal oil was available in Ontario before petroleum-based coal oil and that coal oil was introduced to Ontario possibly as early as the mid-1850s.
First mentioned in the Toronto city directories in 1856, Francis Parson is listed as a soap and candlemaker. In the 1857 Canada Directory he is listed as a commission merchant as well as a soap and candlemaker. He lived on Ann Street (now Granby Street) in the suburban fringe of Toronto. His shop was located on Yonge Street. Henry Parsons and William Parsons, jr. joined Francis to form “Parson Brothers”. It is possible that they were added as partners in order to assist Francis in adding coal oil to his line of business. As noted above, dealers in candles often also sold lamp oil.
The Parson brothers demonstrated coal oil lamps the Provincial Exhibition (precursor to the Canadian National Exhibition) in Toronto. The Toronto Daily Leader records on September 29, 1858 that “Parsons (sic) and Brothers of Toronto have a great variety of coal oil lamps on exhibition, both of the imported article and of their own manufacture, improved. Light from the oil is very clear, especially from the improved burner. They also show some handsome chandeliers.” Parson Brothers were awarded several prizes at the exhibition. They won first prize for their soap and another first prize for their candles. They also won first prize and a diploma for their “improved coal oil lamp” and for their “pure coal oil.”
The Parson Brothers clearly dealt in lamps. In their ad from September 28, 1858 they style themselves as “manufactures of the ‘Improved Coal Oil’ lamp”. The article in the September 29 Toronto Daily Leader states that they “have a great variety of coal oil lamps…both of the imported article and of their own manufacture”. This article also mentions their “improved burner”.
The Parson Brothers sold imported lamps but did they also manufacture lamps? In the late 1850s the word “lamp” was used interchangeably to mean a complete lamp or to mean just the burner. The reference to their “improved burner” suggests that they may have manufactured burners rather than lamps.
The Ontario census taken in early 1861 gives a limited amount of information about the Parson family. They were all born in the United States and belong to the Baptist Church. Living with the family are two interesting individuals. One is a Mr. Pindue (?). The census taker had such poor penmanship that is impossible to decipher his name correctly. He is of interest because his occupation is given as tinsmith. The second interesting person is Miss Tamplin (?). Her name is more legible but still hard to read. Could Tamplin be a misspelling of Taplin?
The Taplin name is well known to collectors of coal oil burners. American Albert Taplin patented several designs for burners in the early 1860s (Russell 1968: 138). Is it possible that the American Parson brothers knew Albert Taplin and that their tinsmith was manufacturing burners of Taplin’s design in Toronto in the late 1850s and early 1860s? More research is required. It is safer to assume that the tinsmith working for Parson Brothers was employed to alter solar lamps to burn coal oil.
In 1863 the Parson Brothers diversified and began to manufacture coal oil. Francis Parson is listed as an oil distiller while Henry and William jr. appear to have run the retail and wholesale business from their premises on Front Street. Chewett’s Toronto Directory for 1867 gives the following account of their premises.
It is tempting to imagine that Anna Gowan saw the Parson Brothers demonstration at the 1858 Provincial Exhibition. Two months after the exhibition, during a trip to Toronto on November 29, she purchased a table lamp, a hall lamp, one gallon of coal oil and a tin can to hold the coal oil. The gallon of coal oil cost $1.50.
These are the first lamps listed in her household accounts. Anna Gowan’s table lamp had cost her $9.00. This is an expensive lamp. We know this from other items in her household accounts. A stove and stove pipes for their bathroom cost $7.75, a stove for the hall cost $14.00 and a pair of andirons cost $6.50. It is clear this lamp was a luxury item.
Anna Gowan purchased an additional three quarters of a gallon of coal oil that winter. She purchased a reading lamp for her husband as a Christmas present in 1859. But strangely, she purchases no coal oil between March 1859 and May 1860. Then in May she buys only a pint. In the eighteen months, between January 1859 and July 1860, Anne consumed less than two gallons of coal oil. Yet her house contained a table lamp, a reading lamp and a hall lamp. The lamps were used to some extent for she purchased two chimneys in November 1859. But the lamps could not have been used too regularly. This is corroborated by the fact that her consumption of candles remained at the same as it did prior to her purchasing the lamps.
The probable explanation for the limited use of Anna Gowan’s lamps is that they did not work very well. In September 1860, while she was in Toronto, she spent $1.50 for “altering oil lamp”. Altering earlier lamps to burn coal oil was common practice. In 1858 Parson Brothers advertised “oil lamps of every description altered to burn (coal) oil". That Anna Gowan paid $1.50 suggests that she was having a brass solar lamp converted to coal oil. This required the work of tinsmith like the one working Parson Brothers. Fluid burning lamps could be converted more easily by simply removing the burner and replacing it with coal oil burner. A coal oil burner and chimney cost 30¢ to 40¢.
