Frösch Lamp

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Producer: Wilhelm Seippel Origin: Germany Date: 1870 Height: 9.7 cm Diameter: 8.25 cm The Frösch (frog) lamp gets its name because of its shape and was used mainly in iron mines since 1820. To light it up, miners connected a wick to a closed oil reservoir inside the lamp. This allowed them to hang the lamp from a hook or carry it by hand while they worked underground. Bringing light into dark mine tunnels was crucial for their work, which is why this type of lamp became very popular in Germany and even in the United States. Although safer than open oil lamps, the Frösch lamp still posed a risk due to its design. The oil directly supplied to the wick resulted in an open flame that could ignite flammable gases like methane inside mines and cause explosions. Before safety lamps like Davy's became widely used, miners relied on these early lamps for lighting until they were eventually phased out of use, especially in Dutch mines.