This digital collection features materials related to rare earth elements, a group of 17 elements composed of scandium, yttrium, and the lanthanides. These abundant elements, characterized by similar geochemical and magnetic properties, are mined for a variety of uses including magnets, alloys, glasses, and electronics. The diverse collection of materials found below demonstrates the range of uses for rare earths throughout the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Browse the topic to find materials related to fine art, lasers, cathode ray tube televisions, the first incandescent lights, and more!
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Artificial Flower Coated with Phosphorescent Powder, Exposed to the Light of Magnesium Wire
- 1870 – 1900
Illustration depicting an experiment in which an artificial flower coated with phosphorescent powder temporarily becomes luminous and shines in the dark when exposed to magnesium wire.
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Phosphorescent Flower Emitting Light in a Dark Room
- 1870 – 1900
Illustration depicting a flower temporarily illuminated through the use of phosphorescent powder.
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Will-O'-The-Wisp (Phosphuretted Hydrogen and Marsh Gas)
- 1870 – 1900
Black and white illustration depicting an evening marsh scene. The illustration demonstrates the natural occurrence of phosphoric compounds which become luminous in the presence of atmospheric gases. The illustration…
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74 items
Welsbach System of Incandescent Gas Lighting Catalog
- 1889
The Welsbach company produced this pamphlet around 1889 to promote its system of gas lighting. The brochure includes a depiction of the factory in Gloucester, New Jersey, and several illustrations of lighting system…
- Creator Of Work Welsbach Gas Light Company
- Publisher Edward Stern & Co.
- Subject Incandescent lamps, Auer v. Welsbach, Carl (Auer von Welsbach), 1858-1929, Gas-lighting, Incandescent gas-lighting, Rare earth industry, Rare earths, Welsbach Gas Light Company, Incandescent gas-lighting--Fixtures, Interior lighting, Factories
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2 items
Carl Auer von Welsbach Cigarette Trading Card
- 1890 – 1930
Austrian chemist Carl Auer von Welsbach (1858-1929) was a key figure in the history of rare earth elements. In 1885 he showed didymium was not an element, but an alloy of two elements that he named praseodymium and…
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6 items
No. 4 Inverted Mantle with No. 8 Magnesia Ring
- 1890 – 1930
Unused Welsbach No. 4 Inverted Mantle and No. 8 Magnesia Ring in its original cardboard box from Lindsay Light and Chemical Company.
The Welsbach gas mantle is a device made of fibers impregnated with oxides of cerium…
- Creator Of Work Welsbach Gas Light Company
- Contributor Auer v. Welsbach, Carl (Auer von Welsbach), 1858-1929
- Subject Lighting--Equipment and supplies, Incandescent lamps, Auer v. Welsbach, Carl (Auer von Welsbach), 1858-1929, Gas-lighting, Incandescent gas-lighting, Rare earth industry, Welsbach Gas Light Company, Rare earths
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24 items
Reflex Inverted Gas Light Catalog
- 1890 – 1930
Welsbach aimed its Reflex line at the middle of the gas mantle market, priced below its Welco line but above its biggest selling models like the Number 4 mantle. Images in this catalog illustrate Welsbach's imagined…
- Creator Of Work Welsbach Gas Light Company
- Subject Welsbach Gas Light Company, Incandescent gas-lighting, Incandescent gas-lighting--Fixtures, Rare earth industry, Rare earths, Advertising, Auer v. Welsbach, Carl (Auer von Welsbach), 1858-1929, Gas-lighting, Interior lighting, Interior lighting--Design
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47 items
Set of Postcards depicting the Welsbach Factory in Gloucester, New Jersey
- 1890 – 1930
This set of postcards depicts the scenes from the Welsbach Incandescent Gas Lighting Company factory at Gloucester, New Jersey. Originally a set of 46 postcards, this collection is missing cards number 20 and 31. The…
- Contributor Welsbach Gas Light Company
- Subject Welsbach Gas Light Company, Employees, Incandescent gas-lighting, Incandescent gas-lighting--Fixtures, Lighting, Rare earth industry, Auer v. Welsbach, Carl (Auer von Welsbach), 1858-1929, Women employees, Rare earths, Machinery in the workplace, Machinery
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18 items
The Welsbach Light Catalog
- 1896
This is a reprint of promotional booklet produced by the Welsbach Company about the history of its light. The booklet was reprinted in 1984 by the Rushlight Club, an association of collectors and students of historic…
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2 items
Periodic table in style of helix and space lemniscate with additional loop for rare earth elements
- 1900 (Original design)
- Circa 1957 (Date attributed to slide)
Top and perspective views of a graphic representation of the periodic table of chemical elements in the style of a helix and space lemniscate with an additional loop for the rare earth elements. This table was…
- Creator Of Work Schirmeisen, Karl, Mazurs, Edward G.
- Subject Scientific illustration, Periodic table of the elements, Periodic law, Chemical elements, Rare earths
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2 items
Periodic table in style of helix and space lemniscate with additional loop for rare earth elements
- 1900 (Original design)
- Circa 1957 (Date attributed to slide)
Top and perspective views of a graphic representation of the periodic table of chemical elements in the style of a helix and space lemniscate with an additional loop for the rare earth elements. This table was…
- Creator Of Work Schirmeisen, Karl, Mazurs, Edward G.
- Subject Scientific illustration, Periodic table of the elements, Periodic law, Chemical elements, Rare earths
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This is Too Bad, Makes Night & Day Alike!
- 1901-Sep-14
This 1901 advertisement for the British branch of the Welsbach Incandescent Gas Light Company features an owl swooping through the dark into the light of a gas mantle streetlight. The owl complains that the light makes…
- Publisher Illustrated London news
- Contributor Welsbach Gas Light Company
- Subject Welsbach Gas Light Company, Auer v. Welsbach, Carl (Auer von Welsbach), 1858-1929, Incandescent gas-lighting, Incandescent gas-lighting--Fixtures, Gas-lighting, Street lighting, Light pollution, Lighting, Rare earth industry, Rare earth metals
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2 items
Periodic table in style of helix and space lemniscate with two additional loops for rare earth elements
- 1905 (Original design)
- Circa 1957 (Date attributed to slide)
Top and perspective views of a graphic representation of the periodic table of chemical elements in the style of a helix and space lemniscate with two additional loops for the rare earth elements. This table was…
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2 items
Periodic table in style of helix and space lemniscate with two additional loops for rare earth elements
- 1905 (Original design)
- Circa 1957 (Date attributed to slide)
Top and perspective views of a graphic representation of the periodic table of chemical elements in the style of a helix and space lemniscate with two additional loops for the rare earth elements. This table was…
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2 items
Erfinder und Erfindungen
- Inventors and Inventions
- 1913
Digitized content includes a frontispiece portrait of Austrian chemist Carl Auer von Welsbach (1858-1929), a key figure in the history of rare earth elements. In 1885 Welsbach showed didymium was not an element, but an…
- Author Neuburger, Albert, 1867-1943
- Publisher Ullstein GmbH
- Subject Inventors, Inventions, Scientific apparatus and instruments, Auer v. Welsbach, Carl (Auer von Welsbach), 1858-1929, Neuburger, Albert, 1867-1943, Incandescent lamps, Welsbach Gas Light Company, Rare earth industry, Rare earths, Incandescent gas-lighting
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Figure 10. Collodion before Burning Off. Figure 11. Collodion after Burning Off. Figure 12. Washing Machine.
- 1915
Figures 10 through 12 from the 1915 volume The Rare Earth Industry. Figures 10 and 11 are photomicrographs showing collodion fibers used in the manufacture of incandescent gas mantles before and after burning. The…
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Figure 14. Impregnating Machine [Gas mantle manufacture]
- 1915
Figure 14 from the 1915 volume, The Rare Earth Industry depicting a machine (1/10 actual size) for saturating cotton and ramie webs with a solution of rare earth metals during the manufacture of gas mantles. The volume…
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Figure 16. Machine for Applying "Fixing" Solution to Inverted Mantles
- 1915
Figure 16 from the 1915 volume The Rare Earth Industry depicting a machine (1/5 actual size) for applying "fixing" solution to inverted mantles, a component of incandescent gas lanterns. The volume details various…
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Figure 17. Burning Off and Hardening Machine for Inverted Mantles
- 1915
Figure 17 from the 1915 volume The Rare Earth Industry depicting a machine (1/14 actual size) for burning off and hardening inverted mantles, a component of incandescent gas lanterns. The volume details various…
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Figure 18. Collodionising Bath
- 1915
Figure 18 from the 1915 volume The Rare Earth Industry depicting a machine (1/16 actual size) for immersing mantles, a component of incandescent gas lanterns, in a collodion solution prior to transport. The volume…
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Figure 19. Movable Drying Crate for 500 Mantles
- 1915
Figure 19 from the 1915 volume The Rare Earth Industry depicting a movable crate (1/52 actual size) for drying incandescent mantles, a component of incandescent gas lanterns. The volume details various industrial…
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Figure 20. Machine for Trimming Upright Mantles
- 1915
Figure 20 from the 1915 volume The Rare Earth Industry depicting a machine for trimming upright mantles, a component of incandescent gas lanterns. The volume details various industrial applications of rare earths and…
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Figure 21. Woodall-Moon Mantle Tester
- 1915
Figure 21 from the 1915 volume The Rare Earth Industry depicting a machine used to test the durability of gas mantles, a component of incandescent gas lanterns. The volume details various industrial applications of rare…
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Figure 23. Automatic Lighter for Inverted Burners
- 1915
Figure 23 from the 1915 volume The Rare Earth Industry depicting an automatic lighter for inverted burners. The volume details various industrial applications of rare earths and closely-related elements, including…
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Figure 24. Stages in the Manufacture of a Carbon Lamp. Figure 25. Connections between Filament and Leading-in Wires
- 1915
Figures 24 and 25 from the 1915 volume The Rare Earth Industry depicting the manufacture of a carbon lamp. The volume details various industrial applications of rare earths and closely-related elements, including…
- Author Johnstone, Sydney J. (Sydney James), Russell, Alexander S. (Alexander Smith), b. 1888
- Publisher D. Appleton and Company
- Subject Rare earths, Rare earth industry, Incandescent lamps, Scientific illustration, Scientific apparatus and instruments, Lighting, Incandescent lamps--Filaments, Light bulbs
