The sitting room was pleasant with shaded lamplight and cozy with warmth from the heater. Dark red cloth curtains were draped at the windows, and the chairs were not set against the wall but gathered about the stove, where the coals glowed through the isinglass of the stove’s door.
Little Town on the Prairie, Chapter 20 The Birthday Party
In Little Town on the Prairie, Laura comments on the isinglass used in both lamps and stoves, which was still relatively new to be seen in a frontier town like De Smet. It was a type of glass made from mica, which could be manufactured into thin sheets which were virtually transparent.
Laura never mentions that the Ingalls owned anything made with isinglass, but the Woolworth’s house, where Laura attended a party and tasted an orange for the first time, had their stove decorated with isinglass panes so you could see the fire burning inside it.
In addition to lanterns and stoves, it was also used to make windows for buggies and later automobiles.
