Antique Pink & White Electrified Rayo Oil Lamp By P&A Duplex 1897 19 1/2” H For Sale

Beautiful antique brass white & pink(glass) Rayo lamp converted to electric,light works. Must insert small bulb so shade can fit. Made by P&A Duplex 1897.

Dimensions 19.5” inches H x 10” Diameter (for white lampshade)

History behind P&A Duplex -

The Plume & Atwood Manufacturing Company was organized in January, 1869, albeit under a different name. It began as Holmes, Booth and Atwood when Israel Holmes, John C. Booth and Lewis J. Atwood formed a partnership after "defecting" from Holmes, Booth and Haydens. Other principals included Aaron Thomas, George W. Welton, and Burr Tucker. Soon after it's formation, the firm bought the brass mill of the Thomas Manufacturing Company in Thomaston which had originally been organized in 1854 to roll metal for making clock movements. They also purchased the Hayden & Griggs Manufacturing Company, a similar concern in Waterbury.

Hiram W. Hayden, an original partner of HB&H, contended that the new company's name matched the existing company's name too closely. A legal battle ensued and Hiram prevailed. In 1871, Holmes, Booth and Atwood became Plume and Atwood Manufacturing Company. The "Plume" was David Scott Plume, the treasurer of the new company.1 The company was incorporated in January, 1880.

Plume & Atwood produced a full line of lamps and lamp trimmings. Their lamp lines included ROYAL, PLUMWOOD and NAUGATUCK in table, bracket and hanging versions. They made gas burners, shade ring of all descriptions, filler caps, and just about any brass lamp part you could mention. Their burners included BANNER, a high quality DUPLEX, the MOEHRING and HARVARD burners often associated with finer student lamps, the HORNET, NUTMEG and ACORN burners often found on night lamps, and scores more. The 1906 catalog, depicted below, is packed with seventy-eight pages of lamps and trimmings.

patent

Between April 18, 1871 and November 19, 1912, the company was listed as the assignee for at least 62 lighting patents - see the patent table below for details. Lewis J. Atwood, a prolific inventor, dominated the field with 44 patents during this period, a whopping seventy-two percent of P&A's patents! It should be noted that Atwood also had a significant number of patents assigned to Holmes, Booth and Haydens when he worked there - at least fourteen between 1862 and 1870. While Plume & Atwood clearly produced and market their own line of lamps, they also produced and supplied similar brass fittings to other lamp manufactures. P&A made all the brass parts (founts and burners) for all the Aladdins through 1963. This includes Models 1 through 12 and burners for Nu-Type A, B and C.2