[STEPHENSON, GEORGE (1781-1848)]. A Description of the Safety Lamp Invented by George Stephenson, and now in use at Killingworth Colliery. To which is added, an Account of the Lamp Constructed by Sir Humphrey Davy. With Engravings. London: Printed for Baldwin, Cradock and Joy; Archibald Constable and Co., Edinburgh; and E. Charnley, Newcastle, 1817.
FIRST EDITION; softcover, paperback, octavo (19 x 12.5 cm), pp. 16 + 4 leaves of plates. Signatures: A⁸. Colophon: Printed by S. Hodgson, Union Street, Newcastle. English text, with engraved illustrations. Bound in publisher's original wrappers. Condition: GOOD. Some wear and tear to the original covers with inking to the rear. Contents well-preserved with some light toning and corner creasing. Scarce.
Notes: A rare pamphlet detailing George Stephenson's design for the "Geordie Lamp". George Stephenson, renowned as the "Father of Railways", was an English civil engineer and mechanical engineer during the Industrial Revolution. He was the engine-wright at the Killingworth Colliery in Northumberland and experimented for several years with candles close to firedamp emissions in the mine. The "Geordie Lamp" was a safety lamp for use in flammable atmospheres he invented in 1815, as a miner's lamp to prevent explosions due to firedamp in coal mines. There was some dispute over the design with Sir Humphrey Davy who's own lamp, called "the Davy", shared similar features. [Wiki; NCL archives].
