The words “wall lamps” and “sconces” are sometimes used
interchangeably to describe lighting that is attached to a wall.
Strictly speaking, though, the “lamp” is the thing that provides
the illumination while the “sconce” is the piece that physically
attaches to the wall. To make things a bit more confusing, the
word “bracket” is frequently used to describe the brass or cast-
iron armatures that held kerosene lamps far enough away from
walls to keep 19th-century homes from burning to the ground.
Some of these brass wall brackets had arms that were designed to
swing so the lamp could be moved in a 180-degree horizontal arc.
Cast iron kerosene lamp wall brackets from the period often had
double joints, and many of either type had reflectors behind the
lamp’s glass chimney, to aim light in different directions.
Other types of brackets were known as doubles, which allowed two
kerosene lamps to be mounted to the same fitting. At the
opposite end of the spectrum was the kerosene nightlight...
Early gas lamps from th