This is a black metal box with perforations on the sides. The bottom of the box has four ceramic feet to stand on. The top of the box has a wooden knob with a metal knob sitting on top. A wire wrapped in cloth extends from a wooden knob for 145 cm. Adjacent to the wooden knob are three uniform holes in a triangular pattern.
Accession Number: 2009.ph.96
Alternative Name:
Primary Materials: Metal, Wood, Synthetic, Thread
Engraved plates on the top read “110 Volts DC” “Ediswan Pointolite Resistance” “Push & Release quickly” “If polarity doubtful and arc will not strike reverse plug.”
Dimensions (cm): 17.5 cm x 14 cm x 11.3 cm
This lamp is a system for providing a very bright point of light.
Fair. The box of the lamp is in good condition. The metal surface of the metal terminal on the lid is corroded. There are three holes in the lid that suggest a component is missing. The wire of the lamp is synthetic material covered with wound thread; it is badly degraded. The thread is missing in parts and the synthetic material is cracked, in places leaving bare wire underneath.
Associated Instruments:
Manufacturer: Ediswan
Date of Manufacture: c. 1930s
University of Toronto Department of Physics
Compare with this similar object at the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History: <a href=http://collections.peabody.yale.edu/search/Record/YPM-HSI-050915>Pointolite Resistance, Ediswan</a> and this object at the Oxford Museum for the History of Science: <a href=http://www.mhs.ox.ac.uk/collections/imu-search-page/record-details/?TitInventoryNo=67571&querytype=field&thumbnails=on&irn=12817>Electric Pointolite Lamp, by Ediswan</a>.
Historical Notes:
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