Coal Gas Collection

The London Gas Supply; Sketches showing Method of Manufacture; Interior of Retort House, 1891. Creator: Unknown
The London Gas Supply; Sketches showing Method of Manufacture; Interior of the Retort House showing the Drawing and Charging Machines, 1891. From "The Graphic

The London Gas Supply; Sketches showing Method of Manufacture; The Condensers, 1891. Creator: Unknown
The London Gas Supply; Sketches showing Method of Manufacture; The Condensers, 1891. From "The Graphic. An Illustrated Weekly Newspaper", Volume 44. July to December, 1891

The London Gas Supply; Sketches showing Method of Manufacture; The Coke Ground, 1891. Creator: Unknown
The London Gas Supply; Sketches showing Method of Manufacture; The Coke Ground, with Gas Holders in the rear, 1891. From "The Graphic. An Illustrated Weekly Newspaper", Volume 44

Philippe Lebon, French engineer and chemist (chromolitho)
1094164 Philippe Lebon, French engineer and chemist (chromolitho) by French School, (19th century); Private Collection; (add.info.: Philippe Lebon (1767-1804)

View of the City of London Gas-Works (engraving)
664639 View of the City of London Gas-Works (engraving) by English School, (19th century); Private Collection; (add.info.: View of the City of London Gas-Works)

Lambeth Gas Works, 1872. Creator: Gustave Doré
Lambeth Gas Works, 1872. In the 19th century, gas was manufactured from the distillation of coal, highly pollutant with waste products and usually sited in poorer areas of London

Drawing retorts by hand, South Metropolitan Gasworks, Peckham, London, 1903 (1903). The South Metropolitan Gas Company was founded in 1829. From Living London, Vol. II, by George R. Sims

Liverpool Gasworks
Sectional diagram of the Liverpool gasworks in 1861 which produced coal gas chiefly for domestic illumination. From the right

First sample of benzene, 1825 C016 / 3651
Benzene. The first sample of benzene, isolated in 1825 by Michael Faraday. It was isolated from an oily reside left by the production of coal gas and was first named bicarburet of hydrogen

Lumps of high-grade anthracite coal
Anthracite. Specimens of anthracite coal, a hard, lustrous sedimentary rock derived from vegetable debris. Anthracite is a slow-burning

Gas storage tank. These tanks, known as gasholders or gasometers, are used to hold coal gas or natural gas. The volume of the container adjusts to the amount of gas held inside

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Coal gas: A 19th-century marvel transforming cities with Philippe Lebon's flame-tip burners. Witness the City of London Gas-Works (1860s), Doré's Lambeth Gas Works (1872), and South Metropolitan Gasworks (1903) in action. Drawing retorts hand-drew coal into these works, converting lumps of high-grade anthracite coal (like these two examples) into the fuel powering gaslights and heating homes. Liverpool Gasworks joined the movement, and in 1825, the first sample of benzene was extracted from coal tar byproducts. The coal gas era's industrial might is captured in these historical images, paving the way for modern energy systems.