Lighting is an integral part of the home. Apart from its practical uses, lighting can also deliver style and charm into the abode. Using antique and vintage lamps as part of home décor can certainly add value and pride to any residence.
Antique lamps encompass a wide range of selection. Each spectrum has its own brand of opulent style. One can encounter popular styles like the oil lamps, slag glass and Victorian 19th century lamps. There are also well-known makes like Handel and Tiffany.
An oil lamp was the earliest type of lamp. It was an ordinary vessel that holds oil with an absorbent wick over the nozzle. The oil lamps were made and used thousands of years ago until the Victorian era. One of its popular innovations was the Betty Lamp which came into use in the 18th century. A Betty Lamp featured a covered top with addition of wick holder within the oil reservoir. Most Betty Lamps had hooks on top while some were mounted on wooden stands. Another one was the phoebe lamp which was a double bowl variety. Its upper bowl held the oil and the lower, larger bowl held the fuel drippings.
The oil lamps were replaced by the Argand Lamps starting in 1780s. Argand Lamps were designed by Aime Argand to produce light as much as 6-10 candles. But, they were expensive and bought only by the wealthy. By the time they were made affordable, the kerosene variety was introduced and the Argand Lamps became obsolete.
Victorian lamps came to popularity between the 1840s and early 1900s. They were the most elegant of antique lamp styles. Earlier Victorian lamps were fueled by oil and kerosene and were later powered on by electricity. The focus of Victorian lamp artistry was in the lamp chimneys, known as lamp shades. The shades were made or engraved with delicate hand-painted images of flowers, landscapes and portraits. Victorian-style lamps were into fringed or ornate designs. They were also known for their rounded or globe-like styles. It was also during this period when slag glass lamps became popular. Slag glass is an opaque-colored pressed glass with milky stripes.
Decorative table lamps reached the peak of its popularity with the success of Tiffany and Handel lamps. Tiffany lamps were designed by Louis Comfort Tiffany in mid-1890s and were known for their bronze base and stained-glass shade. Antique Tiffany lamps were distinguished for their “favrile” or handcrafted glass design. Handel lamps were produced by Handel Lamp Company, founded in 1876, to rival the aesthetic quality of Tiffany lamps but to a cheaper cost. Handel specialized in Art Nouveau designs. Tiffany and other antique decorative lamps are highly collectible today.
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