Bidspirit auction | Brown Bros Chicago Sidewalk Vault

Brown Bros Chicago Sidewalk Vault Light Lens Salesman Sample - Brown Brothers Mfg Co, Chicago, was founded in 1858 manufactured sidewalk skylights. It is not clear when they ceased operations; however, sidewalk lights were replaced with the introduction of electricity - electric light. The salesman sample is made of cast iron with a glass insert. The glass is embossed on the underside Brown Bros Chicago. There may be writing imprinted into the top side lead seal, however, it may also just be a design element. It is illegible. History: Thaddeus Hyatt (1816-1901), a New Yorker, reputably invented sidewalk illuminating lights about 1840. His 1845 patent application claims: I have so contrived my illuminating vault-cover, as to admit the light through a considerable number of small glasses, or lenses, which are so set into the iron cover, as effectually to defend them from injury by the falling or pressure of weighty bodies upon them, or from the expansion and contraction of the metal, they being protected by knobs, or protuberances on the iron cover, and defended also by being set in a frame work of wood or of soft metal, or of wood and soft metal combined, which will yield to percussion and thus aid effectively in preventing the breaking of the glass. Brown Brothers Mfg. Co., established in Chicago in 1858, became a major manufacturer of sidewalk vault lights and prism glass, often featuring glass blocks or lenses set in cast iron panels (in different designs). The lens were designed to illuminate basements with natural light. About 1 H x 3 3/4 W x 3 3/4 D inches Condition: The cast iron is age toned. The top of the glass prism has an abrasion. Dimensions: 1 x 3.75 x 3.75 in Weight: 1.36 lb