In 1844 George Miller Clarke received a patent from the British Patent Office for a certain improvement in night lights, followed by a similar patent issued in 1857 to Samuel Clarke. These night lights known as Fairy lights were manufactured at Clarke's factory in Child's Hill, outside London. They were sold under the name Pyramid, Fairy Pyramid and Cricklite. They proved extremely popular and by 1888 they graced the tables of polite society, being mentioned by Isabella Beeton in her Book of Household Management. Towards the end of the century, the company expanded into other areas of table lighting, the one in this lot being an example of this development.