Cranberry Lamps Mid 20th Century

 

An lamp enthusiast and reader of my lighting books, “American Lighting 1840-1940″ and “Antique Lamp Buyer’s Guide”, sent a group of photos and the question below.

Question:

These are, I believe, ruby flash or cranberry glass. I’ve found similar online but not a real match, although it’s hard for me to believe they’re one of a kind. Actually, of the four I have, three (a pair and a single) are of the same family and the fourth is quite different. No markings that I can detect, although I haven’t opened them to see if there might be any marks inside the base.) I’d love to know something of their date, what kind of shades they may or may not have had, what’s the appropriate way to dress them today, etc.

Many thanks,

D.C.

Response:

Based on the lamp necks that attach on to the portion holding the electric light socket, the lamps in this collection all appear to be from the mid 20th century.  I’m thinking either 1920s colonial revival inspired or post World War II.  The lamp pictured above is a beautiful combination of satin glass with the cranberry leaves and painted gold.  Flash vs. cranberry glass that was dipped after the fact to create the satin finish could be ascertained by taking the lamp apart and looking at the interior. From this vantage point I am going to guess flash.

 

The next photograph below, looks to be  Czechoslavakian Bohemian glass, very popular at from 1900 on until the 1960s.

The final lamp, in the group (below). is styled to appear to be an antique fluid lamp but its construction appears to be 20th century and is either 1920s or post WW 2.  Its origin is likely American, probably from the Ohio, Virginia, West Virginia region of the U.S. where many lovely  examples of glassware was manufactured.  There are still reproductions of earlier styles being made and cranberry glass was extremely popular in the 1950’s and 1960s.,(If anyone who reads this wants to chime in with a specific company please do).  The technique is overlay, where you have two layers of glass to create the decoration.  This contrasts with the technique of placing a stencil over the glass and dipping it in an acid bath to eat away at the glass surface, thereby creating a design in the negative.

 

)

Enjoy your lamps!

 

 

 

Identifying Antique Lamps By Style

This lamp is puzzling me. The font is made of different brass and blocks the light to the decorations on the stem

Trying to figure it out I got two of your books but now my information is broader without solving the puzzle. Would you be so kind as to advise me?

Thank you for your attention

E.B.

Response:

It is always difficult to answer lamp questions, without personally handling a lamp to ascertain how it is constructed, however I will do my best to try and solve your “puzzle.” While I agree with your sentiment that the lovely cast brass decorative stem deserves illumination, I don’t necessarily think that the company that put your lamp together, probably during the mid 20th century had that goal in mind.  It is possible that someone took old lamp parts ( that is when handling helps) a brass font from an older lamp– but I think that the manufacturer /designer was simply evolving the design of the earlier lamps with the bulbous curve of what was originally a reservoir design. Please read the next post/question below on some other mid 20th century lamps.

–Nadja Maril

 

 

 

 

Identifying Silhouette Slag Glass Lamp

A reader sent me the above photograph with a request that I identify the above lamp. Made of curved slag glass panels set into a metal frame, that from the photograph appears to be brass, this is a very nice example of what is known as a Silhouette Lamp because the scene created as part of the framework is silhouetted against the background of the glass, which becomes even more dramatic when lit.
This is a nice example of decoration with a “Wild West” theme showing a Native American tepee and buffalo. I would date this fixture as being made between 1910 and 1925. As to value, hard to say without knowing the size and actual condition. These fixtures typically vary in price from $150 to $600 depending on where they are being sold, however like many unique antiques it would be hard to replace!
Want to know more about antique lighting, order one of my lighting reference books published by Schiffer Publishers and sold online at Amazon.com or at your favorite bookstore.