On November 25, 1838, Luther Jones of New York City filed a patent for a lamp for burning spirits of turpentine,[3] but it was Augustus Van Horn Webb, another New York inventor, who first used the term "camphene" when he filed a patent, antedated to November 23, 1838, for a "new and improved burner, together with a glass or chimney of a peculiar construction, for burning a composition which I denominate 'camphene.'
"[4] In England, an advertisement in an East Yorkshire newspaper in 1843 referred to William Oxley English "having obtained Her Majesty's Letters Patent for the Distilling of Camphine Oil.
According to historian Jeremy B. Zallen, for "households and businesses that could not afford sperm oil (at more than twice the cost) or the still rare and capital-intensive gas lighting systems, camphene was the overwhelming favorite.
"[8] Advertisements for camphine (or camphene) that promoted its bright illumination and low cost were carried in newspapers in the United States and the Western World from the late 1830s through the 1860s.
at the least expense.”[9] Three months later, the Herald described a camphene chandelier on display at the American Institute Fair that was "invented and manufactured in this city, and .
The British satirical magazine Punch reported that in the 1840s, "For domestic purposes the commonest illuminant was 'camphine,' an oil distilled from turpentine.
"[15] An article published in a Dublin newspaper in August 1863 wrote of a "display of illuminations" in Paris that included colored camphine.
Camphine, made of spirits of turpentine, had a high carbon content and tended to smoke unless burned in a lamp with a chimney.
[27] The Wilmington [NC] Daily Herald reported on a fatal accident in 1859, and added, "Will no experience, however painful, have the effect of banishing this dangerous fluid from common use?
A Nashville, Tennessee, newspaper warned In 1868, "The carrying of lamps about the house, thereby subjecting them to agitation and changes of temperature, should be strictly forbidden.
"[6] Burning fluid continued to be sold into the 1860s, according to Leib, but its cost increased during the Civil War when a federal tax on alcohol was reenacted.