Portable lighting describes any lamp or light source designed to be carried rather than fixed in place. Before electricity it was essential for moving around houses, outbuildings and streets after dark, and included chambersticks, hand lanterns, rushlight holders, oil and paraffin lamps with carrying handles, and later battery torches.
The chamberstick, a short candlestick on a dished base with a handle, was the traditional means of lighting the way to bed in Georgian and Victorian houses, and large country houses kept rows of them in the hall. Lanterns in tin, brass, copper and horn protected candles from draughts out of doors, while storm, hurricane and railway lamps used paraffin and glass chimneys. Miners' lamps, ship's lanterns, police lamps and carriage lamps are all collected in their own right. Collectors look for original glass, complete burners, makers' stamps and honest wear, and should be aware that many reproductions exist. Portable lamps adapted for electricity are popular, though any conversion should be carried out sympathetically and safely tested. Antique portable lights make attractive decorative pieces in halls, on stairs and in boot rooms.
