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Exhibit traces evolution of artificial lighting

Right now, the gold-laced lamp lives on a shelf in a storage area at the DuPage County Historical Museum in Wheaton. Its base is sculpted into the shape of a baseball player with a large C on his chest and the word CLUB engraved into his belt.

At a moment when many Chicago Cubs fans are enjoying the team's success, it just may commemorate the club's best-remembered triumph: the 1908 World Series.

"It's one of the Cubs' original jerseys," curator Ashley Downing said, "and around then or right before, they were deciding on what their name was. It depended on which sportscaster was talking, whether they were the Cubs or the White Stockings."

That's just one of the illuminating pieces in the museum's newest exhibit, "From Flame to Fluorescent," tracing the evolution of artificial light. It opens with a family craft workshop and casual question-and-answer session with the curator from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 17, in the museum auditorium, 102 E. Wesley St., Wheaton.

The artifacts are domestic, but some tell global stories, like the World War I bullet lighter.

"It's the bullet cartridge that they would then change," Downing said. "The tip of the shell pops up, which creates a shield, so in the trench it could be lit without the enemy seeing the fire. And then there's no sound when it closes back up. These were popular during the war, but different places would find the cartridges (after the war) and make them souvenirs."

Spanning torches, candles, and lamps to light bulbs, the exhibit showcases the domestication of fire and the creation of artificial sunshine. The designs are diverse, from practical to artistic.

Take the lithophanes, panels of porcelain usually etched with important images from art and history, which would appear when the panel was lit from behind.

"They would create a mold, usually out of beeswax, and then they'd pour the porcelain in," Downing said. "Wherever there's less porcelain, it's lighter, and wherever there's more porcelain, it's darker, to create a 3-D look."

A cabinet full of prototype light bulbs sparks the jump from flame to fluorescent, though the earliest incandescents often didn't last much beyond 40 hours before burning out.

"It wasn't uncommon, even for those who had electricity, to use candles and gaslights until things were more certain," said Downing, pointing to a hybrid gas-and-electric chandelier. "Electricity could go out at any time."

When the lights did stay on, it meant bedtime was no longer determined by the sunset or the life of the candle for most people.

"People were already staying up later and going out, but it was the rich people who could afford it, going to plays and late-night dinners," Downing said.

Like any change, the transition wasn't always smooth.

"A lot of people thought it would be great at nighttime to have lights outside because you can see more and it should be safer, and then you have other people saying the lights at night are bothersome and it should only be on special occasions that things are lit," Downing said.

"Like every new invention, you have somebody who's for it and somebody who's against it."

Despite some "glowing pains," the convenience these innovations brought isn't lost on Downing.

"Nowadays, we take advantage of it. I hit the switch, the light comes on and that's it," she said, "compared to the past, where you had to spend most of the summer making candles and hoping they would make it through the winter. It's completely strange, in a way."

"From Flame to Fluorescent" runs through July 31, 2017. Admission is free to the opening, family craft workshop, and question-and-answer session from noon to 4 p.m. Sept. 17. For information, visit dupagemuseum.org or call (630) 510-4941.

If you go

What: "From Flame to Fluorescent"

When: Opening noon to 4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 17; regular hours 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays and noon to 4 p.m. weekends through July 31, 2017

Where: DuPage County Historical Museum, 102 E. Wesley St., Wheaton

Admission: Free, donations accepted

Info: (630) 610-4941 or dupagemuseum.org

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