Then & Now | How pressure lamps once lit up Asia, and still shine a bright light on camping and fishing trips
- Before electricity became widespread, kerosene pressure lamps, invented in the mid-19th century, were common in Asia. Petromax and Tilley were well-known brands
- The introduction of mains electricity may have changed things, but pressure lamps remain popular for camping and fishing
With their distinctive steady hiss and dazzlingly bright incandescent light, metal pressure lamps were once a common feature of nighttime life across Asia.
Like many other everyday necessities that once seemed destined for obsolescence owing to the widespread introduction of electricity, pressure lamp usage dramatically declined, yet never disappeared.
For camping, fishing and other outdoor activities, these reliable all-weather essentials remain standard equipment across the globe.
An early prototype pressure lamp was invented in 1853; improvements over succeeding decades created the version still in use today.
The technology is simple; a piston-operated hand pump pressurises air, which forces liquid fuel – usually kerosene – from a chamber at the lamp’s base into a gas chamber, which is then piped under pressure to a finely woven mantle made from cotton or asbestos. Lit when saturated, an intense incandescence is created.