ELECTRIC GIRLS,

Grey River Argus, Volume XXXI, Issue 5032, 8 November 1884, Page 1 (Supplement)

ELECTRIC GIRLS,

[FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES.]

The introduction of illuminated ballet girls has greatly added to the attractions of the spectacular stage, Girls with electric lights on the foreehads and batteries concealed in the recesses of their clothing first made their appearance a year ago, but, as yet, the use of illuminated girls has not spread beyond the stage. There is, however, a great future awaiting the grand idea of incandescent girls, and there is reason to believe that in a very short time private houses will be lighted by girls, instead of stationary electric lights. The formation of the Electric Girl Lighting Company is an event second in importance only to the invention of electric lights. This company proposes to supply girls of fifty candle power each in quantities to suit householders. The girls are to be fed and clothed by the company, and customers will, of course, be permitted to select at the company's warehouse whatever style of girl may please their fancy.

A very beautiful design for a front hall girl is now on exhibition at the company's office, No. 409, Gold street. The present system of lighting the front hall of a dwelling-house has the disadvantage that the light — whether it be gas light or an electric light — must be kept burning all the evening, and that a servant must be employed to answer the bell. Thus there is a double expense — the cost of the light, and the cost of the servant. The Electric Girl Lighting Company will furnish a beautiful girl of 50 or 100 candle power, who will be on duty from dusk till midnight — or as much later as may be desired. This girl will remain seated in the hall until someone rings the front door bell. She will then turn on her electric light, open the door, admit the visitor and light him into the reception room. One girl thus performs the duties of lighting the front hall and answering the bell, and her annual cost is much less than that of a servant and a gas light. If, however, any householder should desire to keep the electric girl constantly burning and to employ another servant to answer the bell, there can be

no doubt that the electric girl, posing in &\ picturesque attitude, will add much to the decoration of the house. Under the present system electric lamps or gas burners are fixtures, and cannot be moved from place to place. The electric girls on the contrary are moveable. One girl can be made to give as much light as a large sized drawing-room chandelier, and she can be moved from one room to another, leading the way to supper, for example and whereever she can do the most good. There can be no comparison between a beautifully designed and chastely executed electric light and a massive chandelier that constantly threatens to fall on somebody's head ; and every householder of aesthetic instincts will be glad to exchange his chandeliers for girls. An inexpensive electric girl of one or two candle power will be of great use when a person wants to go from one room to another in a dark house. Instead of having tc carry a candle in his hand and incur the risk of dropping it or having it blown out by a draught of air, the happy possessor of an electric girl can turn her on and send her before him to light the way. The student who is now troubled by the flicker of his gas light, or the in- | ability to move the electric light from one i part of his desk to another, can be made | perfectly happy by an electric girl with a ' ground glass shade, who will take any position the student may desire in order to throw light on his book or paper. No ' one who becomes accustomed to such a | girl will think of returning to old i fashioned methods of lighting. The new company propose to furnish the new light at a little less than the charge made by the Edison and Brush I companies, and promise that in a short time their light will be decidedly cheaper than gas. Their plant already comprises 2500, and both electric boys and footmen will be a command of the public as soon as certain experiments as to the possibility of j enabling electric boys to give a sleady light I are completed.