Dekprisma 1897 - Lightbox - Steel, Glass

Rare antique, probably a French deck prism in good condition.

The prism has no damage, only imperfections since the glass is from the 19th century.

Deck prisms are glass prisms that were flush-mounted in the decks of sailing ships. They let concentrated light through to the cabins on the lower deck. The alternative, using lanterns lit by burning oil, could be dangerous aboard a ship, but the use of glass prisms helped illuminate the lower deck without fire risk.

See the last photo (from the internet). This deck prism looks exactly like it and could therefore be from the ship as described below. (the next bit is from the internet and concerns the last photo)

It is believed that this prism came from the deck of the French hospital ship Saint Paul, which ran aground in 1899 off the south coast of Iceland near Meðalland. In the Skógar Museum there are many artifacts from this ship, because after the grounding the local population took all valuable items from aboard and sold them at auction.

Dimensions including metal holder: 26.7 x 11.4 cm; total weight 1817 g – Prism 1039 g

see photos (part of the description and condition).

Shipping = Registered