Curiosities from 150 years of The Engineer archive

20 September 2007

These days you're more likely to see a dog cocking its leg against a lamp-post than someone cleaning it, but it seems our Victorian forbears took issues of street light sanitation somewhat more seriously. The folding lamp-post was designed to make the job of those charged with buffing up the lamps that little bit easier.

The article explains that the ingenious idea, devised by a Mr Kitts, removes the need for a ladder during cleaning and maintenance. 'It is also intended by the inventor,' wrote The Engineer, 'that no lighting rods should be necessary, lamplighters carrying a key which enables them to disengage the gas, and then return the post to the vertical.'