Crusie Lamps are primitive in form and function. They were popular in the 1600’s to 1700’s but were still widely used into the 19th century by poor households.
A simple Crusie lamp is basically a formed metal bowl to hold fuel with an indentation or channel to hold a wick. This was a durable improvement over the clay pottery lamps of ancient times.
Advancements in lighting design can be seen with the Crusie as later styles are found with multiple wick channels in an effort to produce more light. Also, because unburned oil would drip from the wick onto the ground in waste, another bowl was placed under the Crusie to catch this oil. These lamps are called Double Crusies as well as commonly named Phoebe Lamps.