Historical information

Purchased by Christian Ziebell on one of his two visits back to Germany.

Significance

This object is of primary significance. Christian Ziebell brought it back from Germany on his return visit to Germany in 1856. It always hung where it is now and it is retractable to different heights. It hung on the lowest chain length over the table and was only raised when the family had festive events such as dances when Dorothea would accompany them on the piano. Great care had to be exercised when the lamp was raised because if it went up too high, and therefore became too close to the wooden ceiling, it could cause a fire. Francis Adams – son of Sylvia Adams (Ziebell) restored the lamp in the 1990’s.


This Miller-style hanging oil lamp is a rare and culturally layered object that connects American industrial manufacture with German domestic life and early migrant history in Victoria.

Produced by Bradley & Hubbard (B&H) in the United States in the 1890s, the lamp displays characteristic features of the firm’s Rayo line, including a brass body, opaque white glass shade, quality burner mechanism, and a chain-operated raising and lowering system. The inscriptions “B&H Valpirfor” and patent dates 1894-1895 confirm its authenticity as an American-made B&H Rayo lamp.

This lamp was likely purchased in Mecklenburg, Germany, reflecting the export of modern lighting technologies into rural German households in the late 19th century.

The lamp’s significance is further enhanced by its believed association with the Ziebell family. It is understood that a family member brought the lamp to Melbourne on a subsequent return journey to Germany after the family had established themselves at Westgarthtown.

As a result, the lamp embodies themes of migration, technological adaptation, and the lived domestic environment of the Ziebell family across two continents.

Its high level of intactness, combined provenance and dual- history contribute to its importance as a culturally rich artefact within the Ziebell’s Farmhouse collection.

Physical description

Original Miller hanging lamp, made of brass and opaque white glass. Lamp has chain-operated raising and lowering mechanism. Decorative brass trimming around widest edge of glass lampshade. Contains tubular wick.

Inscriptions & markings

B & H Valpirfor written on lowering mechanism on top of the lamp. Rayo 24.98, PAT'D. NOV. 20.94, FEB 28.95, written on top of oil compartment.