Following the success of Thomas Edison's incandescent lamp, also in 1879, manufacturers of arc lamps realized that they too had to get into the incandescent lamp business if they were to survive. In that year Charles Brush sent Thomas J. Montgomery to England in an effort to market his arc lamp there. Eventually this effort led to the formation of the Anglo-American Brush Electric Light Corporation. In due time both arc and incandescent installations were sold in England.
A major step toward introducing incandescent lamp manufacture in Cleveland occurred in 1882 when the Swan lamp interests in England formed the Swan Incandescent Electric Light Company of New York in an effort to market the Swan lamp system in the United States. This company was managed by Thomas Montgomery.
In the summer of 1883 the Brush Electric Company acquired the American rights to the Lane-Fox incandescent lamp patents and at that time added such lamps to its product line. However, the Lane-Fox lamp proved to be unsatisfactory for its applications. On Jun 9, 1884 Brush tested Swan lamps that were obtained from England as well as the Boston plant of the Swan Incandescent Electric Light Company to determine whether or not the Swan lamp would meet his needs. Apparently it did. The Swan lamp was adopted after Brush bought out the Boston business and what followed was the formation of the first lamp producing company in Cleveland, in 1885, - called the Swan Lamp Manufacturing Company.
The facility existed at the site of the Brush Works at East 45th Street and Commerce Avenue.
Perhaps the most distinguishing feature of the Brush-Swan lamp was its base. The fourteen or so common bases used in the past (before standardization) could be categorized into three classes. These have been referred to as screw, clip and bayonet. The Edison medium screw base is most familiar in the United States as it is the one used today. The Thomson-Houston base had a drilled central hole in which a thread had been tapped. Clip types included the Westinghouse and United States. The bayonet category included the Schaefer, Perkins (Mather), Ediswan and the Brush-Swan. The Brush-Swan base is shown below.
The Buckeye Electric Company seriously considered taking out a license from the Beacon Vacuum Pump and Electrical Company of Boston for the purpose of manufacturing the "New Beacon" lamp, which had been designed to possibly avoid infringing basic Edison patents. However, after negotiations and lamp testing it was decided the lamp was not satisfactory for marketing. The royalty that would have been paid to Beacon was five cents per lamp.
After the Beacon lamp was eliminated from consideration it was decided to manufacture a lamp that had been patented by Edward Pollard. The patent concerned using silver films in the stem press instead of solid wires. The contract was made with the Boston Incandescent Lamp Company. The decision was made in Oct 1893. A view of the stem area of a Pollard lamp is shown below
Another founder was E. J. Bagnall. Bagnall had worked for Brush for over eight years and had spent seven of them in St. Louis building and operating electric light plants. Bagnall was one of the founders of the St. Louis Engineering Company. He also served as a consulting engineer for the Lindell Railway Company. In his new position he was to be in charge of dynamo and motor construction.
L. H. Rogers was in charge of the business end of the new company. He had been the assistant general manager of the Brush Electric Company as well as the general manager of the Sperry Electric Railway Company. He had worked for Brush for six years.
C. W. Phipps had been with the Brush Electric Company almost from its inception. He had secured patents in London when the Anglo-American Brush Electric Company was formed. He also went to Japan when Brush equipment was introduced there.
Samuel Edward Cox had been secretary and practical manager in the Incandescent Lamp Department of the Brush Electric Company, which was a separate organization known as The Swan Lamp Manufacturing Company. Cox was to have charge of the incandescent lamp department in the new company.
The new company, known as the Adams-Bagnall Electric Company, was to make arc lamps, incandescent lamps and possibly railway motors. They also pursued a tipless lamp following an idea patented by Samuel Cox. Adams-Bagnall stopped producing incandescent lamps in 1897 although they continued to produce arc lamps after that date.
Some of these early manufacturers of incandescent lamps therefore became part of the National group, which then became part of the General Electric Company in 1912. The Edison group eventually merged with the National people at Nela Park and these two companies therefore became part of today's GE Lighting. A lamp factory still exists at site of the old Brush Works.
The activities that led to, and resulted in, the incandescent lighting business in Cleveland are summarized in the following chronological listing of notable events:
1872 Formation of the Cleveland Telegraph Supply and Manufacturing Co. (CTSMCo).
1875 CTSMCo reorganized as the Telegraph Supply Co.
1877 Manufacture of Brush's dynamo and arc lamp by the Telegraph Supply Co.
1878 First Brush dynamo and arc lamp sold.
1879 Demonstration of Brush arc lamps on Public Square, Cleveland.
1879 Formation of Anglo American Electric Light Co., Ltd.
1880 Formation of Anglo-American Brush Electric Light Corp., Ltd.
1880 Introduction of Lane-Fox system by the Anglo-American Brush Electric Light Corp., Ltd.
1881 The Telegraph Supply Company changed its name to the Brush Electric Co.
1882 Establishment of the Swan Incandescent Electric Light Co., Boston.
1884 Charles F. Brush tested Swan lamps for performance characteristics.
1885 Formation of the Swan Lamp Manufacturing Co.
1886 C.F. Brush granted U.S. Patent No 335,269 for a switch used in the Brush-Swan socket.
1889 The Brush Electric Company sold to the Thomson-Houston Electric Co.
1890 Incorporation of the Buckeye Electric Company.
1892 Formation of the General Electric Co. by merger of Thomson-Houston and the Edison General Electric Co.
1893 Formation of the Universal Electric Co.
1894 Manufacture of a lamp without leading-in wires by the Buckeye Electric Co. The lamp was patented by Edward Pollard (U.S. Patent No 485,478) and it utilized silver films instead of platinum wires.
1895 Dissolution of the Swan Lamp Manufacturing Co.
1895 Beginning of incandescent lamp manufacture by the Adams-Bagnall Electric Co.
1895 Samuel Edward Cox granted U.S. Patent No 548,036 for a tipless lamp, known as the "A-B", which was manufactured by Adams-Bagnall.
1895 Arnold Spiller and John Massey of the Buckeye Electric Co. developed a new sealing-in machine (U.S. Patent No. 537,493).
1895 The Buckeye Electric Co. introduced five new styles of incandescent lamps.
1896 Dissolution of the Universal Electric Co.
1897 End of incandescent lamp manufacture by the Adams-Bagnall Electric Co.
1897 Formation of the Fort Wayne Lamp Co., successor of the incandescent lamp business of Adams-Bagnall.
1898 Formation of the Royal Incandescent Lamp Co.
1899 Dissolution of the Fort Wayne Lamp Co.
1899 Formation of the General Incandescent Lamp Co., the successor of the Fort Wayne Lamp Co.
1901 Formation of the National Electric Lamp Co.
1901 Purchase of the Buckeye Electric Co. by the National Electric Lamp Co.
1901 Purchase of the Royal Incandescent Lamp Co. by the National Electric Lamp Co.
1902 Purchase of the General Incandescent Lamp Co. by the National Electric Lamp Co.
1903 Formation of the Brilliant Electric Co.
1905 Purchase of the Brilliant Electric Co. by the National Electric Lamp Co.