Swan’s incandescent lamp
The English carbon-filament lamp, shown in Newcastle before Edison patented his.
Joseph Swan showed his lamp to the public in Newcastle in 1879. In 1881 the Savoy Theatre in London became the first public building lit entirely by electricity, with Swan’s lamps. Examples are in the Science Museum in London and the Discovery Museum in Newcastle.
Materials: Glass, carbon (carbonised cotton thread), platinum
Manufacture: The filament of carbonised thread was fixed to platinum wires sealed into the glass; the bulb was evacuated.
The round bulb with a tip where it was evacuated and sealed.
The filament’s simple loop in the middle of the bulb.