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The Lamp Lighter

1870s
Not on view
The city slumbers as a lamplighter makes his rounds, ladder and lantern in hand, in one of only three evening scenes in the series. The waxing crescent moon casts soft shadows on lower Broad Street, but the tranquility of this work belies potential perils lurking in the dark streets. As early as the 1760s, the city’s Common Council attempted to discourage nighttime muggings and robberies by installing whale-oil lamps maintained by municipal lamplighters. It would not be until the 1820s that the dim light from the smoky, unreliable whale-oil lamps was replaced by the luminous glow of a new technology—gas light.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: The Lamp Lighter
  • Artist: William P. Chappel (American, 1801–1878)
  • Date: 1870s
  • Culture: American
  • Medium: Oil on slate paper
  • Dimensions: 6 1/16 x 9 1/8 in. (15.4 x 23.2 cm)
  • Credit Line: The Edward W. C. Arnold Collection of New York Prints, Maps, and Pictures, Bequest of Edward W. C. Arnold, 1954
  • Object Number: 54.90.490
  • Curatorial Department: The American Wing

More Artwork

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The Boot Black, William P. Chappel American, Oil on slate paper, American
The Boot Black
William P. Chappel
1870s
Tea Party, William P. Chappel American, Oil on slate paper, American
Tea Party
William P. Chappel
1870s
Fighting a Fire, William P. Chappel American, Oil on slate paper, American
Fighting a Fire
William P. Chappel
1870s
Infant Funeral Procession, William P. Chappel American, Oil on slate paper, American
Infant Funeral Procession
William P. Chappel
1870s
Bull's Head Tavern, William P. Chappel American, Oil on slate paper, American
Bull's Head Tavern
William P. Chappel
1870s

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