Second Chance Lamps

A possible California pottery piece?  A blue ceramic lamp from circa 1920s-1930s.  Delivered to me with an unsalvageable cloth cord.  Professionally restored with period, rayon, cloth-covered wiring along with the original plug.

This is an exquisite, vintage, frosted-glass elephant lamp, charming and perfect in every way.  With the exception of veryminor “flea bites” along the globe, this item shows no wear or tear from its 90+ years of service.  Lamps of this particular design were commonly used on bedroom nightstands or a woman’s vanity table.

The detail is incredible!  The elephants, with trunks in the elevated position, is a symbol of good luck in many cultures.  There is a total of three elephants equally spaced around the base, from which the globe detaches to find the (still period) light socket and switch.

This is what it looked like BEFORE:

After some elbow grease and TLC, new wiring and electrical it really shines in its full potential.

Here’s the top globe from above and below.

And a detailed view of the base all cleaned up.

The little elephants around it are really amazing. 

We think it came out really well and it’s still one of our favorites.

If anything has ever been Art Deco, this lamp is.  With 12 feet of detail packed into a tiny 12 inches of pink frosted glass, this complete set of matching base and shade has a lot going on in one place.

With circles, lines, diamonds and spikes, it’s like Art Deco exploded and then landed harmoniously in the most perfect of ways.  It has been fully rewired but still has the original socket with a clip-on bracket for the shade.  The shade is a vintage, period, and authentic matching piece. Neither the base nor the shade have any noticeable damage or wear.

This tiny tabletop lamp packs a punch of color in a very petite package.  It has a lovely green and red stained-glass shade standing on an ornate base that appears to be bronze (based on the fact that it is non-magnetic).

This is truly a second-chance lamp.  When delivered to me, the original socket was burnt and badly damaged due to faulty wiring.  It has been completely rewired and given a new porcelain socket.  All previous wiring issues have been resolved and the lamp is now safe for many years of enjoyment.

Though its exact age cannot be determined, I do not suspect this is lamp is “old”  by definition. It is a truly charming piece that needed to be saved.

Height with shade: 10 1/2 inches Height without shade: 9 1/4 inches Width of base: 6 inches Shade height: 6 inches Shade width (bottom/top openings): 6 1/2 inches/3 1/4 inches

This single-arm, brass, Art Deco-style sconce stands alone with its beautiful detailing and original patina in a petite but stately package.

Its Art Deco style adorns the vertical ends of the backing plate along with the arm that holds the standard Leviton socket.  It still has its original patina in its entirety.  It has been fully disassembled, professionally rewired, and given a new switch.

Although it is made of brass, it has a copper hue.  There are no visible imperfections or damage, but there are minor marks of wear that can be expected of any piece of their age.  It does not have any distinguishing marks with the exception of “B26”  stamped in the back casting.

This gorgeous Victorian sconce still has the original iridescent, etched glass shade.  It has a “Bryant” socket with a patent date of May 17, 1910.  It is solid brass with a very unique screw-on socket shade.

The pull-chain switch operates flawlessly just as it would have back in 1910.  The original paper insulator on the back of the mounting plate and the original mounting screws are still present.  It also comes with the original porcelain insulator mounting plate.

The sconce is 7 1/2 inches tall with the shade installed.  The shade is 3 3/8 inches wide at the opening.  The mountingplate is 3 3/8 inches in diameter.

This sconce has been completely disassembled, cleaned, and professionally rewired, and is ready for installation.

The shade is made from a very thin glass and has one microscopic fracture on the top rim along with period-appropriate flea biting considering its age.  Otherwise, the shade and sconce are both in remarkable shape for being over 100 years old.

A beautiful restoration, over a year in the making!

Truly a unique “marriage”. The base is a signed RAINAUD. The shade is a signed QUOIZEL. 

The Smoker’s Lamp was used by just that–smokers!  From the early 1920’s, it is a floor lamp crowned with a small pedestal mid-way between the base and the shade equipped with an electrical outlet for powering the jadeite cigarette lighter (or anything else you feel like plugging in).

This was found in one piece, masked under about a dozen layers of multi-colored paint.  It took a lot of patience and chemical stripping, but I finally discovered it was solid brass and much more ornate than originally appeared under all the colors.  The lamp was stripped and rewired using the original cord (which was in stunning condition considering its age!).  The shade is a period holophane, which was a perfect marriage to this already exquisite lamp. It has been approximately 10 years since the restoration and the patina has returned to the original brass perfectly!

Here is a full-length view of it lit up:

This is a detail of the base:

Here is a detail of the central pedestal and jadeite lighter, plugged in.

This is what the underside of the lighter looks like.  When plugged in, it gets red hot and can still light cigarettes.

Here is a close-up view of the top-half of the lamp and shade.