There are interesting peripheral stories connected with incandescent lamp history and some of them concern the parts that make up the lamps. Certainly the origin and characteristics of the glass bulbs would be one of these stories. Another deals with lamp bases. The following is a brief summary of a publication that appeared in 1953 on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Providence Base Works, which is located in Providence, RI.

Lamp bases are still made in Providence today by the General Electric Company. The organization had its beginning on Apr 18, 1853. A firm was established by Messrs Mooney and Emerson for the purpose of manufacturing gas burners for domestic and commercial use. In 1865 Emerson sold his interest in the firm and the organization became known as Mooney and Gleason. Still later the organization became known as Mooney, Arnold and Shaw. After the death of Arnold in 1870 the partnership became known as Mooney and Shaw. In 1875 this partnership ended when the business name was changed to Providence Gas Burner Company.

"The original manufacturers assembled their own bases, using brass caps and cylinders with plaster of paris as the insulating material between the two. The first bases used a screw shell for one terminal and a ring for the other. Because these were bulky, a cone shaped ring and hardwood insulator was substituted and the assembly was held together with plaster of paris. This combination proved impractical as the wood absorbed moisture from the plaster of paris and it had to be abandoned. Fibre later replaced the plaster insulation and in turn was replaced by porcelain insulators in 1898. Glass insulation first came into use in 1903."

In 1882 a General C.H. Barney was treasurer of the Providence business but he resigned his position to take one with the Sawyer- Man Electric Company of New York. Sawyer-Man had been assembling their own bases and General Barney was quick to see that the Providence business was well equipped to supply parts for Sawyer-Man and so in 1887 an order for 5000 parts was given to Providence. By the year 1890 half of the company's business consisted of bases for incandescent lamps.

In 1895 the Providence company was making bases for every type of socket on the market. After the formation of the National Electric Lamp Company in Cleveland in 1901 it was decided that it (National) would buy the Providence business and that occurred in 1902. In 1910 the gas burner business was dropped and the organization became known as the Providence Base Works of General Electric.

Providence became the largest producer of bases in the world. They established plants worldwide and sent base making machinery to China, Japan, Europe and South America. From the original order of 5000 units in 1887 the shipment increased to more than one billion during 1952.