'Osmine' Sintered Metal Filament
The Osmine lamp is the development of the former giant French Electrical company, Fabius Henrion of Nancy. The company manufactured all kinds of electrical machines and appliances, and diversified into lighting in 1892 with the manufacture of arc lamp carbons, at a new factory in Pagny-sur-Moselle, Lorraine. The production was primarily staffed by men and there was little work available for the wives of the workers in that small town. To counter this problem, in 1896 Fabius Henrion decided to build an incandescent lamp factory on the same site, where the detailed work was ideally suited to the large and unemployed female workforce of Pagny. The technology was acquired from Thomson-Houston of America, who had taken a major shareholding in Fabius-Henrion in 1893 so as to grow its European business.

The company quickly grew to become one of the dominant French lampmakers. The links to GE of America provided strong technical input, and it was one of the earliest French pioneers in the development of the sintered metal filament lamp. These were marketed under the name "Osmine".

Owing to the brand name, it is suspected that Fabius Henrion may have experimented in the production of lamps having Osmium filaments - and like its competitors, instead of changing immediately to tungsten once that superior metal could be adopted, passed through a transition phase in which its filaments consisted of a tungsten-osmium alloy. This lamp is almost certain to employ a substantially pure tungsten filament. The selling prices listed in the 1909 catalogue are too low for there to have been a significant osmium content. The filament consists of six hairpins, arc welded to the supports. The stem seals are of platinum wire.
Manufacturer: Fabius Henrion Nancy
Lamp Power: 12.8 Watts
Lamp Voltage: 110 Volts
Lamp Current: 0.116 Amperes
Cap Type: B22d Brass & Vitrite
Bulb Type: SA-55 SA-17 in eighths/inch
Bulb Finish: Clear Soda-lime glass
Filament Type: 6S-2 Separate Hairpins
Atmosphere: Vacuum
Luminous Flux: 30 Bougies
Luminous Efficacy: 0.8 Watts per Candle
Beam Intensity: N/A
Beam Distribution: N/A
Colour Temperature & CRI: CCT: 2400K CRI: Ra 100
Chromaticity Co-ordinates: CCx: 0.486 CCy: 0.415
Rated Lifetime: 1200 hours 96% maintenance @ 1000h
Burning Position: Universal
Overall Length: 165 mm 6½ inches
Light Centre Length: 102 mm 4 inches
Factory: Pagny-sur-Moselle France
Date of Manufacture: Approx 1908
Original / Present Value: 3 Francs (1909)
 
 
References: 1) Catalogue of Fabius Henrion Nancy, France, 1909.
2) Advertisement of Fabius Henrion Nancy for the Osmine Lamp, France, 1910.
3) De la Compagnie des Lampes à la Compagnie Philips Éclairage, Maurice Daubresse & Pierre Levet, published by Philips France, 1992.