Lamp Antiques
It is a common perspective that one man’s trash is indeed another man’s treasure. This point of view may well apply to vintage items and lamp antiques, which are sources of joy for collectors and enthusiasts, but not for the housekeeper who has to dust and clean these old items.
The term antique is defined in a number of ways and varies depending on the source, product, and year. A more common definition refers to an item that is at least a century old, which remains desirable and collectible because of its beauty, rarity, utility, condition, or any other unique feature. A person who enjoys these unique items of the past, called antiquities, is referred to as an antiquarian.
Antiquarians enjoy antiquing or identifying and shopping for antiques. They can either buy these antiques for their own personal use, to give as gifts, or as in the case of dealers and brokers, for profit. The hobby usually takes place at auction houses, antiques districts, garage sales, and resort towns. They may also frequent websites featuring collections of antiques and vintage things such as that of Rago Arts and Auction Center and eBay auctions. Collectors Weekly’s website has an array of lamp antiques for aficionados.
For lamp antiques, one can choose from an extensive spectrum, which includes Victorian-inspired and slag glass. Leading names in this industry are Tiffany, Handel, and Aladdin. Tiffany-style lamps are tremendously popular and are still widely manufactured to this day. Collectors will have no problems with this style since they are easy to find, except Louis Comfort Tiffany’s original leaded-glass lamp. These lamps were designed for the wealthy elite of America and can therefore be worth over thousands of dollars. Handel lamps match the aesthetic superiority of Tiffany lamps but are offered at a lower cost. Handel’s Art Nouveau lamps are very popular. Aladdin’s vase kerosene lamps are among the most collectible lamp antiques. Venetian Art Craft lamps and those made under the Vertique line are also popular collectible lamps from Aladdin.
Decorating one’s house with old-fashioned furniture, including lamp antiques, will create an interesting appeal to the room. Most vintage lamps have intricate designs, which make them great additions to receiving areas. They are items that easily stand out in a room embellished with modern decorations and thus become interesting conversation topics. If you are not into lamps, then maybe you can use other collectibles such as oversized advertising items to perk up the room.
