The first chandelier design was a simple cross shape which was hung in places of assembly and gathering such as churches or local halls. The unit could be adjusted using a pulley mechanism to be lifted to the desired height and locked until the candles needed to be replaced or extinguished. Also known as hanging candelabra, Chandelier lighting was first used in Bohemia and dates as far back as the 15th Century. The first designs used crystals and candlelight to reflect and refract the light around a room, and they are still used today in most modern designs. Early chandeliers were mainly used as ceiling lights for balls in wealthy houses. The use of layers of cut glass and long pendants hanging from the chandelier’s base were commonly used. Later on the designs incorporated other materials such as brass, bronze or iron, but the basic design remained the same, the idea being that because of its unique structure, a chandelier could distribute light evenly around a large room. In the early 1700’s the design of chandeliers became more intricate. The arms were twisted into various shapes to add multiple candles. In 1879, the first stained glass chandelier was invented by Louis Comfort Tiffany, a design which, although then a luxury found in the homes of the rich, is now a classic decorative item adorning the ceilings of many modern homes. The world’s largest Bohemian crystal chandelier, weighing 4.5 tons and adorned with 750 lamps, was a gift from Queen Victoria and can be found in the Dolmabahce Palace in Istanbul, which has the largest collection of Bohemian and Baccarat crystal chandeliers in the world. One famous chandelier is the one brought crashing down in Gaston Leroux’s 1910 novel The Phantom of the Opera, by the Phantom himself. The association of chandelier lighting with money has been a long tradition, as they have been used on cruise ships such as the Titanic and the Queen Mary, and with its association with palaces and castles chandeliers have historically had a reputation as being an expensive form of jewelry to adorn the ceilings of the very privileged, however over time their use has changed. In later years, chandeliers were finally made with gas (The term gasolier â€used to describe a portmanteau of gas and chandelier, was common). A combination of gas and electricity was then used, until chandeliers were eventually able to be powered using solely electric lighting †with a high demand around 1890 for electric chandeliers to be hung in homes. Throughout the 19th Century the design of the chandelier adapted and changed, becoming available to more and more homes. No longer a simple cross design lit by candles, the chandelier has grown and evolved over time, maintaining the original beauty of a design no longer associated with money so much as for its ability to dazzle and charm.
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