The Lighting Time Table

To read the entire tutorial, you can just click on the first link and then continue to the next section at the bottom of each page. Or, you can select links below of interest to you.

PRE 1900 SECTION

Overcoming Obstacles
About Early Electric Lighting, Generators, Arc Lamps, The First Edison Socket, Menlo Park, etc.
The First Fixtures
About The Start Of The First Incandescent Lighting Fixtures
Light Reflection
About Early Light Bulbs And Candle Power vs. WATTS
Edison-Bergmann
About Sigmund Bergmann And The Start Of Bergmann And Company Lighting Fixtures
Lighting Break Down
A Quick Break Down Of Different Lighting Time Periods
Styles 1881 to 1884
Bergmann Fixtures And Styles
Other Pre-1888 Styles
About Early Companies That Sold Lighting Systems And The Fixtures That They Sold With Their Lighting Systems
The U.S. Elect. Co.
The United States Electric Company History And Early Items
The Brush Elect. Co.
The Brush Electric Company History And Early Items
Thomson-Houston
The Thomson-Houston Electric Company History And Early Items
Westinghouse
About The Westinghouse Manufacturing Company History And Early Mergers
Mid 1880's Styles
About The Start Of Electrical Supply Houses and how new lighting styles came about
Pre 1900 Sockets
About Early Light Sockets And How To Tell The Difference
1887 New Items
1888 New Items
1890 New Items
1891 New Items
1892 New Items
1893 New Items
1894-1896 Items
1897 New Items
1898 New Items
1899 New Items
Above are catalog items sold in different years. There is no space to duplicate items, so only new and unique items from each year are shown. You would need to view the catalogs for yourself to be complete as I am only highlighting items. You can view catalogs here.

EXTRA INFO
Victor Shade Holder
About The Victor Shade Holder, Atwood And The Standard Holder

I.P. Frink 1899 Items
About Frink & Wheeler
New Wheeler Inverted
Three Links About Mirror Reflector Manufacturers And Their Items And History.
Wheeler Reflector Co.
NEW - A history of The Wheeler Reflector Company and tips on how to tell if mirror has been replaced on a shade

Early Desk Lamps
Some Help In Telling Them Apart

Vitrite And Luminoid
About The Vitrite Holders And Early Vitrite History

Brush-Swan Holder
About Brush-Swan Shade Holders

Cord Balls
My cord pendant adjuster project, as well as a good history about them.

POST 1900 SECTION

About 1900 Styles
This section covers a basic into into the 1900 section covering information about the 1899 transition, electrical code changes, lighting influence, sharing and licensing of patents and then into the new section of electrical specialty manufacturers,

Electrical Specialty Manufacturers
Harvey Hubbell
This section covers some early history periods of pre Hubbell-Grier, Hubbell-Grier, Harvey Hubbell, Hubbell Company. It also covers a number of items that helped change lighting styles,

Benjamin
This section covers some early history periods for the Benjamin Electric MFG. Co, as well as a small section on Dale and The Federal Electric Company
Dale
Federal Electric

This post 1900 section continues to be under current construction

Please Check Back.

For the last couple of months, I have been working on methods of making copies of pendant cord balls of different types.

As you know, I am more of a purest when it comes to lighting items.

I like to keep items in all original condition, and have almost a hate for reproductions of any kind.

The real problem is, that these balls are hard to come by.

Also the demand for them is growing and it is becoming harder and harder to find them in the wild, without the need of paying too much for them.

The last one that I lost in auction went for almost $200.00 (and I would had bid more, if I would have expected it to go that high.

This experience alone, convinced me that these little wooden balls needed more research.
It has also made me re think (to a small degree) my purest convictions, when it comes to a only a little wood ball that is so essential to cord pendants and so hard to come by.

I decided to work towards a solution that would be acceptable not only to those that need them, but also a purest like myself when it comes to appearance, materials and manufacturing methods.

I believe that if they need to be done, they need to be done right!

This is the reason that I have put so much time into this project (and will put much more time and research into this through this year).

About My Prototypes
While it may had been easy to make a nice shinny finish and some nice wood tones, that is not my goal at this time. Right now, the look and feel that I am trying to accomplish is a product that will complement an untouched piece from the 1880's through 1900.

Right now I am perfecting three different basic types of cord balls (prototypes shown below)

1. Bergmann Style Hook Balls (Circa 1885 to before 1889)
2. EGE & General Electric Co. Linked Balls (Circa 1891 to 1909)
3. Common Cord Balls (Circa 1889 to about 1930)
(note that I will be doing some other styles later)

• My prototypes shown on this page are all hand made - ONE AT A TIME
• No two balls are identical in finish or patina
• Careful attention to detail is taken when making each ball
• Multiple re checks and touchups are done through a long process (days) of waiting for each step to complete

So far I have put a lot of work into this, as you should be able to see from the examples shown.
The results on this page have come through much trial and error. I have also visited with some friends well experienced in furniture restoration. They have shared some of their techniques, and I have developed some of my own as well. I am working on other types of adjusters and different styles of balls not yet shown here, as they are still in testing phases.

CURRENT PROTOTYPES

THE EDISON-BERGMANN 1880's ADJUSTABLE CORD PENDANTS AND CORD PENDANT BALLS

The first type is taken directly from the Bergmann No. 5 catalog.
I do not know how long this exact style was around, as Bergmann catalogs are hard to come by. I have copies of the 1883 (No. 1) catalog which does not yet show these. The next Bergmann catalog that I have is No. 5 (about 1884/1885) which does show and sell these balls. The next catalog that I have access to is No. 11 (1889) which no longer shows this style ball. (Please contact me if you have any Bergmann catalogs other then talked about on this page).

In 1889 Bergmann merged into the Edison General Electric Company. In the 1891 EGE catalog, this ball style changed to smaller balls permanently linked together, possibly with straight through (non-curved holes).

This unique ball which I refer to as the "Bergmann Style", was a great working design.

Note that the holes for the cord are curved, which required two holes to be drilled at an angle that met in the center of each ball.

This design causes the cord to fit tightly, which means that even heavy pendants work well. Other designs may sometimes allow the cord to slip easily with heavy shades.

This design also allows someone to preset a distance of cord for a quick adjustment.

Hook the balls together to raise the light, or easily un hook the balls to bring the light down.

Note: Three sets of the style shown below were made as prototypes. All three sets have been sold.
The first set was sold on a pendant (with full disclosure) and the other two sets on ebay noted as my prototype examples.

IN - USE EXAMPLE - HOOKED	IN - USE EXAMPLE - UNHOOKED
To see more examples of Bergmann prototypes like those above, click on the link below to see additional photos: http://antiquesockets.com/ballgallery.html
SMALLER 1 INCH PROTOTYPES I have also done the Bergmann style above in a smaller one inch ball as shown to your right. The hooks are more like the G.E style ball, but with the eye open on one side so that it can be hooked. If these smaller balls are desired by others in the future, I will take the time to craft better hooks for them.
LINKED BALLS - E.G.E. & The General Electric Company - Circa 1891 to 1909
There is some information to be gleaned from the catalogs, but the fact is that even with many different examples of these balls, there is still some uncertainty as to it's true design.
More then likely, these G.E. style balls went through some minor changes through the years. The important things to pay close attention to in the catalog pictures (shown on your right) are the hooks, and trying to notice if the holes in the balls are straight or curved.
The 1891 and 1897 catalog pictures seem to show a straight through hole drilled to somewhat of an angle (on the left ball), to how the ball is resting in the picture. While the hook could be open on the 1891 (right ball), the 1897 catalog picture is clearly closed. There is no doubt in my mind that these are straight through holes in both the 1891 and 1897 examples.
In the 1904 and 1905 catalog pictures, the hooks have changed to a new style. It is clear though from the picture, that there is no room for the hook to detach like on the older Bergmann styles. The last G.E. catalog to sell this style ball was their 1909 company catalog, but no longer offered an illustration for it.
The first catalog was the EGE 1891 catalog, but by the time that G.E. was formed (1892) it was no longer offered (or at least it was not in the 1894 catalog). I also have a 1896 Canadian G-E catalog which still does not offer it. The next G.E. catalog that I have that picks it up again is the 1897 catalog.
I do not know where the 1907 Roberts catalog got their image from, seeing it was not a copy of any of the G.E. images. Also the last G.E. catalog to sell these balls was the 1909. At least the part number is correct and is what we would expect to see during this time. HOWEVER, the 1918 catalog is a total mystery! Maybe Western Electric bought a LARGE quantity of these before 1909 (or earlier), OR they or someone else was making them.
Notice also the holes could be the same as the older Bergmann style, but in my tests comparing my prototypes at different angles likely not. These balls pictured may be larger and have two straight through holes on each ball. Also note that the catalog number is closer to that of the 1891 G.E. catalog number.
PROTOTYPES OF MY GENERAL ELECTRIC STYLE LINKED BALLS
All of my holes are drilled 9/32' as they were for most standard twisted cord (example no. 16 lamp cord). When portable and showroom window cord started to become more popular, most balls started offering new optional larger size holes, which were 13/32".
This style ball however never offered the new size holes. This was likely due to the smaller size of the balls. When you start drilling larger holes, the small balls are more likely to chip, crack, or break. For more information on holes and different lamp cords, see my section on this below.
I added some close up photos of the balls above, to my ball gallery at the link below: http://antiquesockets.com/ballgallery.html#steel
COMMON TYPE CORD BALLS - (Circa 1889 to about 1930)
The most common of all cord adjusters (but still rare to find today) was the standard two hole "Cord Ball". The first documented use that I find for one of these balls is in the 1889 Fred. M. Kimball & Co. catalog, which is shown in the picture of the pendant to your right. While the first documented "flexible pendants" were made by Edison and the first hook balls by Bergmann in the early 1880's, by 1890 most manufacturers and distributors were selling their own or some type of cord adjuster. The most popular of pendant adjusters was the two hole wood adjusting ball shown here. The cord ball went by many different names, but they are all basically the same thing. A round wooden ball with two holes that was used to adjust the height of the cord pendant. The adjusting ball was offered in catalogs from 1889 until about 1930. (sampled from my personal catalog collection most but not all of which is shown here). In these catalogs, it was offered with finishes such as Black Enamel, Maple, White and Cherry. PROTOTYPES OF MY WOODEN CORD BALLS A Picture Showing Two Different Sizes A Picture Showing Different Finishes And Conditions     I added some close up photos of the balls above, to my ball gallery at the link below: http://antiquesockets.com/ballgallery.html#cordballs   CORD SIZES AND ELECTRICAL CODES Prior to the 1899 National Electrical Code, "Fixture Wire" and "Flexible Cord" only required 1/64 inch of rubber insulation covering the copper wire. In 1899 most applications of flexible cord and fixture wire now required 1/32 inch of rubber insulation. This made the wire much thicker and older cord balls and adjusters no longer worked on some pendants. Since the older insulated wire was still being sold, manufacturers needed to adapt and make their adjusters work well with either size wire. Some adjusters simply used two sizes. Another type of wire became much more popular in later years also, which was made for store display windows and portable lamps (work lights). This wire was twice the size of regular twisted lamp cord. Catalogs started offering two sizes of holes about this time and described the sizes as "Standard" and "Portable". Sometimes you will see "Show Window" size in the place of portable, since it was basically the same wire and described in electrical catalogs this way. The holes drilled in portable size adjusters was 13/32 inches. The standard hole size in all of my prototype balls is the same that was used after the electrical code changes which is 9/32 inches. I can make special 13/32 inch for industrial cord if needed. OTHER CORD ADJUSTERS There were also MANY other types of adjusters through the years, I have only listed the most popular adjusters below as an example for you. The Dumbbell Adjuster The Q&S Adjuster The Universal Adjuster The Stewart Adjuster The BAR Adjuster (hard rubber) The BAR Adjuster (wood) The Dumbbell- Made of wood with a clear finish. I have found this in catalogs from 1897 to 1921. The only patent I could find was applied for on April 2nd 1904 (patent no. 783,743) which must be an improvement to the first design, or a late patent application seeing it is in earlier catalogs. The Q&S - The Q&S is also known as "The Flat Adjuster". It was made from Red Fiber. I have found this adjuster in catalogs from 1891 to 1921. The patent number for this adjuster is 479,509, which was applied for on November 11th 1891 and approved July 26th 1892. The Universal - The Universal adjuster (patent no. 741,154) was made from wood and offered finishes such as Black Enamel, Cherry, Green, Red and unfinished plain wood. It came in three different sizes for different types of cord. For standard cord (old pre-1899 electrical code wire) the standard size of 3 3/4 inches was used. For new code standard wire, the 5 1/8 size was sold. I could not find the third size mentioned in catalogs other then described as the "Showroom Window" cord size. Since the "Showroom Cord" is two times the size of standard lamp cord, I would guess that the third size was much more larger then the 5 1/8 inch adjuster. I have found these in catalogs from 1904 to 1930, but would had been around a bit earlier as the patent was applied for July 2nd 1902. The Stewart - The Stewart Adjuster got its name from the Inventor Frank. H. Stewart of the Frank H. Stewart Electric Company. It was offered in both red and black fiber. I have found this adjuster in catalogs from 1900 to 1908. I should also note that it is not found in the 1909 Frank H. Stewart Company catalog. It was likely discontinued about this time. The patent number for this adjuster is 656,431 which was applied for May 9th 1900 and approved on August 21st 1900. The BAR - The BAR adjuster is also know in catalogs as the "Peanut", as well as the "Improved Adjuster". It was offered in both wood and black hard rubber. The wooden versions were sold with finishes such as Black Enamel and Cherry. I have found this adjuster in catalogs from 1891 to 1923. The Innovate - The "Innovate" (patent no. 794,671) shown on your right has been added to this section, since it shows up in so many catalogs through the years starting about 1905 until the mid 20's. MISCELLANEOUS ADJUSTING PATENTS 414798 415897 453002 495951 520318 536031 571761 595074 602235 613098 613196 627215 666400 670552 679829 679930 755914 760819 783741 807336 817557 833009 856722 860189 865531 914768 932970 933664 936156 960269 986383 992821 1015828 1026690 1034741 1053593 1056908 1064777 1067554 1079720 1087093 1108468 1130860 1216801 1322465 1328448 1356316 1375224 1379093 1398601 1424999 1514544 1522684 1714369 1806487 More... (keep checking back)   415896 447889 492808 505585 513066 864535 915288 1050068 1263795 451202