Dorchester Illustration of the Day no. 1654
Reaction from Doug Wynne to yesterday’s photo with the hose hanging down –
Good morning, Earl.
The hose on the left looks like an illuminating-gas line for her desk lamp, most likely hooked up to a ceiling fixture. If I remember correctly, such gas lines were visible in the series of Victorian interiors you provided earlier this year. That ceiling fixture might be an early example of the “dual-fuel” concept, i.e. both illuminating-gas and electric, because I think I see an electric cord hanging down on the right, maybe for an electric desk lamp. Based on my reading about the early development of toy electric trains, initial attempts at home electric power were unreliable. So maybe the gas light indicates this picture was taken before Tesla’s more reliably generated and transmitted AC reached ascendency over Edison’s DC, which was limited to very local generation and distribution. By the way, for someone who composed such lighthearted tunes, she doesn’t look all that lighthearted herself. The influence of George Washington looking down from the wall over the bookcase?
Today’s Illustration:
A Methodist Church was located on Parkman Street at no. 29. Today the land at no. 29 has been added to no. 27, and the whole is owned by the Shawmut Congregation. There is a modern church building on the site.
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