Hello everyone:
I have a bit of a puzzle on my hands and none of the resources I've tried have really helped with it. I was hoping for some identification help! I recently cataloged a decorative carbon arc lamp ceiling fixture and three components were cataloged as part of it. They aren't mentioned in the original description and don't really match with the fixture. My guess is that sometime in the last 50 years, someone found these in the same box or the same general area and assumed they were a part of the lamp, but I don't think they are. I've attached a photo of each of these items.
Image 1: The tan material wrapped around the center appears to be asbestos. The top is marked "Ingento Burke & James Chicago". They made darkroom and camera equipment but I haven't found anything like this, even in the product catalogs I've checked.
Image 2: When you twist the red knobs, the brackets with the wing nuts move back and forth. Engraved in one area is the text, "Ingento. Burke & James. Chicago" and, "35 Amp Maximum 220 Volts".
Image 3: There are rows of ceramic insulators inside the perforated metal. There is a rheostat on one end and on the other is a tab marked, "Controller for D.C. BluePrint Lamp" and, "Line 220. Arc 150. Amp. 75". I realize it's probably part of a blueprint printing setup, but I haven't been able to find anything specific for how exactly it fits into a setup or what the date would be.
Any ideas if this fits together in any way? Any idea what specific type of equipment these are a part of?
------------------------------
Geoffrey Woodcox
Assistant Curator of Collections
State Historical Society of North Dakota
Bismarck ND
------------------------------