Post by grumpynorthener on Mar 14, 2021 20:35:28 GMT
Today we take vehicle lighting for granted - providing illumination of our intended direction of travel - this wasn't always the case though and in the very earliest of vehicles nothing other than candles were used - bear in mind that street / road lighting was also in its infancy
Before suitable sized dynamos came to the market oil lamps were used but gas lamps became more popular for vehicle use - Acetylene was generated by dripping water onto carbide within a container which in turn generated the gas - all vehicle mounted - quite often referred to as the carbide lamp
Lucas 'King of the Road' lamp - Lucas had a head start with vehicle lighting & the carbide lamp as they had already developed the system for the bicycle
Needless to say that systems improved through the decades but its also probably fair to say that the headlamp & associated other lighting could make or break a cars styling - much more thought was put in to styling of the headlamp over a number of decades with size, shape & exact location playing major roles
By rebating the panelwork and then placing the headlamp behind glass / plexiglass vehicle styling could be taken to another level
Get it right and it created a style all of its own
Some styling even called upon concealed headlamps with the lamps retained within pods which raised automatically when the headlamp was switched on
A style that worked with some manufactures models but was lost on others
There was no obligation to stick to just one pair of headlamps either - get the styling right and the lamps could make a proper statement
You could also add to the basic and upgrade a dull car to something that looked intentional
And not everything had to be shaped around a circular lens either
In later years form functioned plastics could be utilised to take headlamp styles to a new level
Although a mandatory requirement of vehicle production it does not mean that you have to dull and boring either
Then again some manufactures could not get it right even if they tried
Nothing wrong in adding to what you already have either
Right then the humble ' Headlamp' - post up your pics & comments please - much prefer your favourites but the odd mouldy goldfish bowl counts as well
Before suitable sized dynamos came to the market oil lamps were used but gas lamps became more popular for vehicle use - Acetylene was generated by dripping water onto carbide within a container which in turn generated the gas - all vehicle mounted - quite often referred to as the carbide lamp
Lucas 'King of the Road' lamp - Lucas had a head start with vehicle lighting & the carbide lamp as they had already developed the system for the bicycle
Needless to say that systems improved through the decades but its also probably fair to say that the headlamp & associated other lighting could make or break a cars styling - much more thought was put in to styling of the headlamp over a number of decades with size, shape & exact location playing major roles
By rebating the panelwork and then placing the headlamp behind glass / plexiglass vehicle styling could be taken to another level
Get it right and it created a style all of its own
Some styling even called upon concealed headlamps with the lamps retained within pods which raised automatically when the headlamp was switched on
A style that worked with some manufactures models but was lost on others
There was no obligation to stick to just one pair of headlamps either - get the styling right and the lamps could make a proper statement
You could also add to the basic and upgrade a dull car to something that looked intentional
And not everything had to be shaped around a circular lens either
In later years form functioned plastics could be utilised to take headlamp styles to a new level
Although a mandatory requirement of vehicle production it does not mean that you have to dull and boring either
Then again some manufactures could not get it right even if they tried
Nothing wrong in adding to what you already have either
Right then the humble ' Headlamp' - post up your pics & comments please - much prefer your favourites but the odd mouldy goldfish bowl counts as well