A glass chimney is a clear glass tube fitted over the flame of an oil, paraffin or gas lamp to protect it from draughts and to create an upward current of air that helps the fuel burn brightly and cleanly. It sits within the gallery of the burner and is usually narrow at the top and swollen at the base, though shapes vary according to the type of burner.
Glass chimneys were developed alongside the improved lamps of the late eighteenth century, when Aimé Argand discovered that a chimney greatly increased the brightness of his circular-wick burner. During the nineteenth century, as paraffin lamps became widespread, chimneys were made in vast numbers in Britain, France, Germany and the United States, in different heights and diameters to suit duplex, central draught and flat-wick burners. Many were marked with the maker's name or the burner they fitted. Because they were fragile and frequently broken, original chimneys are now less common than lamps themselves, and replacements are routinely fitted. When restoring a lamp for use, it is essential to choose a chimney of the correct size and type for the burner, as the wrong one will cause smoking or overheating.
