I’m sure this is out there somewhere, but it’s difficult for me to describe what I’m looking for well enough for a net search to find it.
What I’m looking for is an oil lamp similar in construction to the ones used in the first half of the nineteenth century, which burned vegetable oil rather than petroleum products. Such lamps are sometimes referred to as “Argand lamps”, since he was the inventor that originated the idea of a lamp using a glass chimney. However, I am NOT looking for an actual antique, nor am I looking for an exact reproduction of a particular style, since I don’t want it as a decorative object. What I’m looking for is function. Because vegetable oil is much more viscous then kerosene (“paraffin oil”), earlier lamps had to be designed differently from kerosene lamps. In particular, they had to use a “gravity feed” system, where oil would flow from a reservoir down to the burner/wick holder (like those water dispenser arrangements for pets).
So I guess what I’m trying to find is a glass chimney style lamp, but one that burns vegetable oil. All I’ve been able to find are non-functioning or electrified antiques, kerosene lamps and lanterns, and simple no-chimney primitive lamps. Any lamp experts out there who can help me out?