Brass Vents

Rare Brass Vents Now Available For Lighthouses

The Lighthouse Preservation Society has just completed the lengthy process of researching, engineering, and fabricating the ten missing historic brass vents in our latest lighthouse preservation project, the restoration of the two Newburyport Range Light towers.

Now we would like to offer these custom-made handcrafted replicas to you, so that the lighthouse(s) that you own or manage can also benefit from the fruit of our labors. These working replicas are not available anywhere else, and with many of our nation’s lighthouses missing these historic artifacts, chances are good you may need them in order to complete the restoration of your own lighthouse.

These valuable and beautifully crafted circular rotating vents used to grace the interior side walls of lighthouse lantern rooms throughout the country, allowing the keeper to adjust the amount of air flow in the room, so the oil lamps would burn brightly. By sliding the brass louvers in a dialing motion, both the oxygen and the temperature of the room could be regulated. This was an important feature in the days before electricity.

Unfortunately, with electrification and modernization, the majority of lighthouses have had these brass vents stripped out of them, often as a result of vandalism, leaving empty circular holes in the lantern room walls.

Today, finding a working sample of these historic artifacts is not easy to find. Fortunately, we were able to find intact brass vents at the historic Annisquam Harbor Lighthouse in Gloucester, Massachusetts, where we had measurements taken and drafted diagrams of the working parts so molds could be produced to cast brass replicas. We have also devised a special tool to secure your new vents, making them virtually tamper-proof and safe from future vandalism.

Now, for a limited time only, we’re offering to make these working replicas for you. Working together, we can keep our lights shining!