Are you an antique lamp collector — or would you like to be? Just looking for that special piece for your home or office? Whatever your needs and interests, we have all the facts you need, not sales promotions! Honest information, simply presented.
bedside lamps gold Antique porcelain lamps can be oil lamps or electric lamps, simply depending on when they were made and for what market. Some of these antique lamps are oil burning lamps. The most commonly recognized antique oil lamps are built with a large globe on the bottom and a smaller globe on top. Most of these are very decorative, with both globes painted, usually with floral designs.
Electric antique porcelain lamps are typically of a table lamp style, but are still well known for having painted designs and patterns on one or both globes. There is a wide and varied assortment of antique lamps that can be purchased from ‘Net sites, antique stores, or even (sometimes) at yard or garage sales. These lamps may be oil or electric, plain or fancy, but are almost always high quality, as well as a lovely addition to a room or house.
One of the most enduringly popular of all of the types of antique lamps is the banker’s lamp. A bankers lamp is normally constructed of a brass post with a green or blue glass shade. Today, the green shades are most common in reproduction lamps, but the blue shades were as common in the original type.
Antique porch lamps, which are very popular with designers today, were originally used not on porches, but in carriages. Carriage lamps were mostly made of brass, wrought iron, or wood, and were mounted on the carriage doors or side walls. The sturdy construction and design of the carriage lamps makes them well suited to their modern use as porch lights. They are usually seen mounted on either side of a door.
The antique torchiere lamp, the antique brass floor lamp, and the antique art deco lamp are some of the more modern antique lamps that are still very popular today. Torchiere lamps are very useful and easy to place, because they provide indirect bright light to a room or area without the trouble of installing overhead fixtures. Most antique lamps are quite ornate and beautiful, since they were considered to be a design feature, not just an appliance.
Antique brass floor lamps are very popular, partly because they are well made and sturdy, and partly because they are plentiful on the market. Brass floor lamps typically require little in the way of renovation; a bit of polishing, modern wiring, and perhaps a shade are all that is needed.
The beautiful designs of Art Deco lamps make them very valuable, not only as antiques, but also for the intrinsic design value of that period. Art Deco lamps might be made from brass, copper, mica, stained glass, or other aesthetically pleasing (and somewhat atypical) materials.
Antique kerosene lamps are well liked, not only for their value as antiques, but also for their beauty and functionality. The most popular type of antique oil lamp (from the late 1800’s) is the student lamp.
These student lamps were available as both single and double burner models. They were widely used because they threw very little shadow which made them ideal for their intended purpose as a reading and study lamp.