Antique Lamps - Let it Shine

Pairpoint Lamp

The beautiful thing about Antique Lamps is that there are lamps to fit everyone's budget. If you are looking for a simple old lamp to add light and elegance, there are many, but Tiffany has lamps that can bring over a million dollars at auction.

When searching for that rare find in lamps, it's important to know that the value is usually in the shade. Yes, I have sold Tiffany bases for over $5,000 but if you remember from an earlier Blog, I searched all over for a shade and couldn't find one suitable for this lamp, even though I bid up to $10,000 for the one that I thought was befitting of the base. I was not successful in locating a suitable shade. This makes sense when you consider that the bases are usually made from metal and they seldom break. But the shades are a different animal. If one has survived for over 100years, that makes it special indeed and in much demand.

My friend Warner and I once traveled deep in the county to a farm auction where a small puffy Pairpoint Floral lamp was up for auction. We bought some items before the lamp came up for auction. Not wanting to appear too eager, we waited until someone else cast the first bid. Believe it or not, the opening bid on this lamp was only $500. We waited, and the bid crept up to $750. At that point we thought it was time for us to bid. We didn't want the auctioneer to drop the hammer for someone else at a price we would have gladly paid. Our bid got to $1,500. Warner and I could hardly contain ourselves when the auctioneer dropped the hammer and pointed in our direction. No, it wasn't a million dollar purchase, but it was very early in our partnership, and we knew that we done well at $1,500.

We were able to sell that lamp for over $4,500. At the time, to us it might as well have been a million. This type of purchase is available to everyone if they have the knowledge to recognize value. Remember, I said that we were deep in the country? There was a reason for that. By far, the best buys I have made was when I was willing to go that extra mile to find something special. I have found that when I go where others don't, my competition is often limited. And since I am looking for the rare item, rather than lots of common items, I am at an advantage.

You see, I am always looking to buy the best that is presented at any auction I attend. Yes, I do expect the items that I bid on to be the highest priced pieces entered in the auction, but again, there are so many dealers afraid of making a mistake they let many outstanding pieces sell for much less than their true value. That is what we are looking for, right? You must be very careful when purchasing an expensive item, however, because an unnoticed crack can be fatal to you and turn your joy into tears. The more expensive the item the more scrutiny you must give it.

You can find these special pieces listed in the Antique Trader, Antique Week and the Maine Antique Digest in their auction sections. If you haven't subscribed to these papers by now, what are you waiting for?

Be aware that there are many fakes of Tiffany, Gallee and other well known lamps. If the price seems really cheap, then this should at least make you suspicious.

The book that I enjoy looking at is "Quality Electric Lamps - A Pictorial Price Guide" published by L&W Book Sales. I am sure that there are many more wonderful books on lamps, and we will be adding many of them to our reference section in the future.

You might be keeping an eye out for Handel lamps, Jefferson, Miller, Moe Bridges, and Roycraft among others.

Even contemporary lamps can be worthwhile, and if purchased low enough, the return to you can help in your effort to reach another step in your journey.

I will be selling a Daum Nancy lamp in the Early's Spring Auction, so be sure to watch for it.

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If you haven't yet had a chance to see what we've got listed in the 31 Gallery & Marketplace, click on over and take a look. You might even find a real bargain. We've got many high quality items priced reasonably. If you have a high quality piece you'd like us to find a buyer for, why not consign your item to us. No high fees when you sell with us.

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LET THERE BE LIGHT - It Might Be Antique Treasure.

When Thomas Edison invented the light bulb, little did he know what he started. Yes, the light bulb provides us light, but with that came the lamp. And artisians the world over have taken that lamp to new creative heights.

Comfort Louis Tiffany, perhaps the greatest glass master of all time to this date, saw the light and wanted to create something beautiful with it. His creation came through lamp shades of stained glass panels. Now all he had to do was produce the most fantastic lamps that man had ever seen up to that date. Little did he know that years later, a single one his lamps would sell for over $8,000,000.

Now, I'm not asking you to go out and try to find yourself a Tiffany Lamp, but I am asking you to study the truly great high quality pieces, so you can learn to recognize quality when you see it. This will be your advantage over others. You can study and learn about these items through books, researching on the internet, and by going to antique shows where these high quality items are often found. I've written before in another blog about the importance of getting up close to some of these items at shows, and I encourage you to regularly attend antique shows to come face to face with these items of high quality. even if you never will have a chance to buy a Tiffany lamp, you can still have an appreciation for the finest. I will probably never own a Maserati, that's my dream car, but I still want to be able to admire it.

To set you off on your path to learning about the finer things, I'll share a few links here about Tiffany that will explain what a gifted man he was. Take a look here at these links: Tiffany Link. Tiffany Link. Then, do your own study by finding other sites. Just type in "Tiffany Lamps" in any search engine.

While you are studying Tiffany, remembe that I have stated that today we have a rising star by the name of Charles Lotton that is becoming the Tiffany of today. In fact, while Tiffany’s lamps were made of panels and the artistry was in the patterns, in Lotton's lamps, the artistry is in the glass. Time may prove that Charles Lotton is even a greater glass master than Tiffany, if you can believe that.

There were many companies that began to produce wonderful lamps that aren't as expensive as the Tiffany Lamps are today. Some of these companies such as Chicago Mosaic Lamp Company, Handel, Jefferson, Miller, Moe Bridges, Pairpoint, and Pittsburgh. With this many companies producing fine lamps there must be thousands of lamps just waiting for you to discover them. When Cindy attended the Arlington Park Antique Show with me, she saw beautiful lamps and loved the reverse painted scenic lamps produced by the Moe Bridges Company. I'm certain that one of these will eventually find its way into her home.

The lamps from all these fine companies can vary in price from a few hundred dollars to tens of thousands of dollars. "Quality Electric Lamps" is a wonderful book put out by L-W Book Sales in 1992 that shows a large number of these lamps in color, along with prices for that year. I recommend that you search out one of these books and keep it as part of your resource library.

In order to complete the early steps in our 31 Race to a Million Dollars, it's not necessary to concentrate on the older lamps. I have found that lamps at garage and estate sale can be bought for pennies on the dollar of their original price. Even at auctions, lamps seem to sell at very reasonable prices. Stiffel lamps are a good example of what I am talking about. I have seen Stiffel lamp sell for under $25.00, when I knew that on eBay they would bring $100.00. In the beginning of our treasure hunt, this might be a great way to get some of those early steps out of the way.

Be sure to examine each lamp very carefully for a mark. It's usually there. By finding that mark, you might see that lamp as a treasure where others have overlooked it. This little light of mine, I’m going to let it shine. Have any of you heard that before? I hope it brought back some good and warm memories.

If you haven't yet had a chance to see what we've got listed in the 31 Gallery & Marketplace, click on over and take a look. You might even find a real bargain. We've got an Erte Bronze, Lotton Glass, and many many more high quality items priced reasonably with no buyer's premiums. If you have a high quality piece you'd like us to find a buyer for, why not consign your piece to us. No high fees selling with us.

Be sure to visit our web site for more information about how you can join the 31 Club Wealth Building and start your own race to your millions! Read more about it here!"The Guy in the Red Tie" --- Daryle Lambert

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