A Four-Light Gasolier

New York City, New York
Circa 1855
Fellows, Hoffman & Company

Manufactured by Fellows, Hoffman & Company, this spectacular four-light gasolier is a rare example of American gas lighting featuring four classical maidens standing under palm trees. A rare pattern in patinated and gilt lacquered finish, this is adorned with foliate and floral elements. The fine canopy is adorned with foliate and quatrefoil motifs. A drawing of a four-light example is included in the Fellows, Hoffman & Company 1857-1859 catalog. In the reference, Gaslighting in America, it is stated that two others related to this example are known. One of these hangs in the library at Fountain Elms, an 1850 house museum administered by the Munson-Williams-Proctor Institute in Utica, New York. The other is in a private collection. Featured on the cover of the museum’s hundredth anniversary exhibition catalog, a similar, but less sophisticated example with figures is in the collections at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. See Archive item D183 for a related six-light example.

Reference: D’Ambrosio, Masterpieces of American Furniture from the Munson-Proctor-Williams Institute, 1999, p. 25, Fig. 19. Myers, Gaslighting in America, 1978, pp. 86-89, Plates 39-40. Metropolitan Museum of Art, 19th Century America, no. 135

Spelter, brass, and glass
Height: 55” Diameter: 34”
D313
Sold