This object is a hanging lamp made by Bradley and Hubbard Manufacturing Company. Bradley and Hubbard Manufacturing Company made many different types of lamps, some of them, like this one, had a detachable shade, which had a wire connected to it. The company was in business between the years 1852-1940. The company also manufactured bookends, matchbox holders, chandeliers, candlesticks and other metal household accessories. This lamp could be placed on a table and then moved to a hanging position when the owner needed it.
The Bradley and Hubbard Manufacturing Company was originally named Bradley, Hatch and Company, until the Hatch brothers sold their piece of the company. The company started by manufacturing clocks up until the Civil War. At this time in history, metal companies started to expand and flourish because the country was expanding west of the Mississippi River. During this time Bradley and Hubbard expanded their company’s production line to include match safes for keeping matches dry, call bells for businesses with a reception desk, andirons for fireplaces, urns, and a variety of other items. The company was able to expand so much by keeping their prices lower than the competition, while maintaining the quality of their products.
When Colonel Edwin Drake discovered oil in Titusville, Pennsylvania in 1859, one of the partners of Bradley and Hubbard Manufacturing Company, Nathaniel Bradley, saw an opportunity to expand their company’s production line to include kerosene lamps, like this hanging lamp. Once the kerosene business started to boom the company started to specialize in kerosene lamps, each lamp had a ‘B&H’ stamped on its base. Between the spring of 1868 and the winter of 1913 the company created 89 patents, which means they discovered new designs of lamps and had the right to legally exclude anyone from using the designs, similar to a copyright or license. The designs of lamps and chandeliers were the designs of Bradley and Hubbard.
One of the patents was a design for a type of chandelier that could be lowered and raised. This chandelier was advertised in 1875 in the Crockery and Glass Journal. Finding success in these chandeliers, they sold, them to churches, and banquet halls. Keeping up with the changing times, the company started to manufacture electric lamps and chandeliers when those became popular. Their products were in demand all around the country, and they are still valued today.