This is the oldest flame-safety lamp in the collection and dates from around 1818. The lamp was made by John Newman of London, who made scientific instruments for Sir Humphry Davy (the inventor of the lamp) and for the Royal Institution.
Early Davy flame safety lamps gave about a quarter of the light of the naked flames they replaced. Bulls-eye lamps used glass lenses to focus the light into a single point, creating a brighter spotlight. These lamps were especially useful in surveying where reading, writing and observing detail was important.
There is an inscription on the base which reads:
Miners Lamp Given to Mr Bright Bruton Street by Sir Humphry Davy
