There are many unsung contributors to the early incandescent lamp business. For example, today people are able to see an "antique" lamp operating in a fire station in Livermore, California, but they might not be aware of its origin. This notable example is the so-called "Centennial Light" that still burns after 100 years of service^{13, 14}. The lamp was designed and patented by Adolphe A. Chaillet⁹. At the time it was designed he was employed by The Shelby Electric Company in Shelby, Ohio.

Chaillet was born in France in November of 1867; his father was born in Sweden and his mother, in Russia⁸. An early newspaper article states that Chaillet was a Parisian and a graduate of both German and French scientific institutions¹. In another article it was also said that in addition to a thorough knowledge of electrical engineering Chaillet was capable as a chemist and mineralogist⁵. In one newspaper article he commented on Darwin's theory of evolution⁴. He apparently started in the incandescent lamp business with his father, who operated a factory near Paris⁵. It's been said that Chaillet was in charge of the largest factory in Germany at one time⁵. It was also said that he was engaged by the Schaefer Company in Germany to assist in making filaments and remodeling the plant.⁵ He emigrated to the United States in 1892 to manufacture lamps at Marlboro, Massachusetts⁵ (probably in what was then known as the Bryan-Marsh Company). Then he was employed in the designing department of the General Electric Company in Lynn, Massachusetts⁵. About 1896 he completed a design for an electric locomotive for the Jeffreys Manufacturing Company in Columbus, Ohio⁵.

It was while he lived in Columbus that he was contacted by John Chamberlain Fish (1864-1909), an energetic business man from Shelby, Ohio. Fish had heard that Chaillet had ideas for an incandescent lamp that promised to give 20% more efficacy and 30% more life than any lamp then produced². Fish, along with other interested parties, then formed The Shelby Electric Company to manufacture the lamp and they hired Chaillet as Technical Manager; he was also placed on the Board of Directors. Rather than applying for patents on the new lamp design, as well as the details of its manufacture, Shelby Electric decided to keep that information as trade secrets. The first lamp produced (in February of 1897) was a tipless one in which it was exhausted at the base end. Later, on October 22, 1900, Chaillet applied for a patent, on an unrelated design, that was granted on June 2, 1902⁹. A lamp of that design is, apparently, the one that now burns in the fire station in Livermore, California. Undoubtedly when a Shelby lamp is mentioned today it is Chaillet's later design that is brought to mind.

The type of lamp that is in operation in the fire station in Livermore, California is pictured to the left. This picture was scanned from a Shelby Lamp Catalogue of about 1910¹². The maximum diameter of the bulb, as measured on a photocopy of the catalogue page, is about 2-1/2 inches. A similar lamp of about 1901 vintage (16 candlepower, 110 volts), in the writer's possession, has the same size bulb diameter. Electrical measurements might be of some help to understand the longevity of the lamp because the estimated wattage of the lamp given in the Centennial Light Facts List¹³ (4 watts) is much different from the more realistic 30 watts of the lamp shown. The idea behind the design was expressed in a periodical in 1902¹⁰:

"The inventor's idea, practically stated, is to flatten the coil, and also flatten the end of the globe or bulb so that the greatest intensity of light is thrown downwardly. The filament is coiled in a form which presents a loop that is elongated transversely of the axis of the lamp, or in other words, the loops are substantially elliptical, the major axis being transverse to the longitudinal axis of the lamp. The globe is likewise flattened at its tip end so that the glass wall is substantially parallel with the lower lines of the filament loops when the lamp is suspended from above."

Apparently, when he lived in Massachusetts, Chaillet met and married Maude F. Bickmore, a native of that state. Maude was born in April of 1877, being the daughter of parents who also were natives of Massachusetts⁸. Adolphe and Maude's first child, Alexander B., was born in November of 1896, so it is assumed that Chaillet was married sometime during the period 1892-1895^{5, 8}. Their second child, Arnold, was born in August of 1898⁸ and their third child, Catherine M., was born December 28, 1899⁷. All three children were born in the state of Ohio⁸. Little else is known about the Chaillet family except that a granddaughter and grandson of Adolphe are living in the United States today.

The activities of Adolphe A. Chaillet after August of 1902, when he was no longer on the Board of Directors at Shelby¹¹, are not known to this writer. A look was taken at "The American Family Immigration History Center" web site¹⁵ and the name of Chaillet did appear. If one simply inserts the surname "Chaillet" without a first name initial, nineteen matches appear. One can then determine that Maude Chaillet and her daughter, Catharine, arrived at Ellis Island on July 15, 1904 aboard the ship "Monterey", the port of departure being Veracruz Llave, Veracruz, Mexico. On that same list one finds that A. A. Chaillet arrived at Ellis Island on July 5, 1914 on the ship "Antonio Lopez", the port of departure being Puerto Mexico, Veracruz, Mexico. It was stated that A. A. Chaillet's place of residence was Mexico City. It might be tentatively assumed, therefore, that Chaillet worked in Mexico City from about 1902 to 1914. Some corroboration of that conclusion follows from the text card that accompanies one of William J. Hammer's lamps that is now stored in the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan. Lamp No. 1905-798 is a Chaillet lamp that was manufactured in Mexico. There is the possibility that the turbulent nature of the Mexican Revolution made Mexico City a less-than-desirable place to live in 1914, the year Chaillet disembarked at Ellis Island.

Acknowledgements
The image of Adolphe Chaillet was scanned from Reference 5. Certain information given here was graciously provided by Mrs. Sally J. Maier of The Shelby Museum of History as well as Mr. Alex Chaillet, grandson of Adolphe A. Chaillet.

Author: Edward J. Covington

References
1) "A New Factory", The Shelby News (Shelby, Ohio), August 7, 1896, pg 1.
2) "The Shelby Electric Works - A Description of One..." The Shelby News (Shelby, Ohio), December 18, 1896.
3) "The Shelby Electric Company's Lamp Filaments", Electrical Review, Vol 30, No 10, March 10, 1897, pg 111.
4) "On the Inconsistency of the Evolution Theory," A. A. Chaillet, The Shelby News (Shelby, Ohio), March 26, 1897.
5) "Shelby Electric Company", Western Electrician, Vol XX, No 24, June 12, 1897, pg 338.
6) "The Shelby Electric Co., The Personnel of the Company, ...," The Shelby News (Shelby, Ohio), June 25, 1897.
7) Birth of Catherine M. Chaillet, December 28, 1899, Richland County Vital Records Office, Probate Court, 50 Park Ave., East, Mansfield, OH, Vol 3, pg 54.
8) Twelfth Census of the United States, enumerated on June 18, 1900, Shelby Village, Precinct B, Sharon Township, Richland County, Ohio, Vol 130, E. D. 136, Sheet 14, Line 96.
9) U. S. Patent No. 701,295, June 3, 1902.
10) Electrical Review, Vol 41, No 4, July 26, 1902, pg 119.
11) "Shelby Elec. Co. - Holds Annual Meeting of Stockholders...", The Daily Globe (Shelby, Ohio), August 29, 1902.
12) Catalogue of Shelby Lamps, Published by The Shelby Electric Co., Shelby, Ohio, circa 1910.
13) Web Site. http://www.centennialbulb.org/facts.htm
14) Web Site. http://www.centennialbulb.org/
15) Web Site. http://www.ellisislandrecords.org/sign/index.asp - (Surname - Chaillet. Do not enter first name initial).