Frog lamp
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The frog is a historical type of oil lamp that has been used in mining since the end of the 16th century as a miner's lamp ( light ). The name may have been derived from the vaguely similar shape of a sitting frog . Each mining area had a slightly different, characteristic shape; there was the Erzgebirge frog , the Westphalian frog etc.
Layout and function
Structure and function are simple: A flat container contains the sledge or lamp oil . Open and closed frogs existed in parallel for a long time. A wick (historically a twisted flax wick ) is held in the front of the lid by a clamp secured with a screw, so that it can be adjusted quickly and easily. At the back is a handle with a chain attached for hanging. In some designs, the handle ended at the front in the form of a small mirror.
Usually frogs are forged from iron and soldered, more rarely made from brass . Depending on the manufacturer and carrier, the frogs were ornately decorated. A well-known manufacturer was the Seippel company in Dortmund .
Since frog lamps burned with an open flame, there was a risk of triggering firedamp explosions . They were therefore mainly used in areas where hardly any explosive mine gases escaped, e.g. B. in ore or salt mining . Safety lights were used in coal mining as soon as they were available.
Entering miner with a frog lamp, mid-16th century
Closed frog
Clay frog
open frog lamp 18th century
closed frog lamp 18th century
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literature
- Karsten Porezag: The miner's open light . Sledge lamps, oil lamps, candle lamps. Glückauf GmbH, Essen 1980, ISBN 3-7739-0304-9 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Dortmund mining lamp exchange in the Museum für Naturkunde in Dortmund ( Memento of the original from August 10, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ Mineralienatlas Lexikon: Frosch
