In 1897, Hubert recognized the potential of the flashlight and hired inventor David Misell, who had patented a portable electric lamp in 1895 and an early bicycle head lamp in 1896. Misell and Hubert assembled a number of tubular flashlights and gave them to New York City policemen in different precincts.
They began receiving favorable testimonials from the policemen.
In 1906, National Carbon Company, which supplied Hubert’s company with materials for their flashlights, bought a half interest in the company for $200,000. Hubert remained president but the name of the company was changed to “The American Ever Ready Company.”
Flashlight technology leaped forward around 1910 with the introduction of a nickel-plated tube and the invention of the tungsten filament bulb. Pocket-sized tungsten flashlights and search lanterns quickly became household items.
According to an Eveready brochure called “101 Uses for An Eveready,” the flashlight had become an essential personal item by 1916. “The light that does not flicker in a draught, extinguish in the wind, and is controlled instantly by finger pressure. It’s the light everyone needs,” the advertisement read.
The military found that the flashlight proved useful for reading maps in darkness and signaling with Morse code.
