This article first appeared online at AuctionRover.Com in January 2000. It is reprinted here with kind permission from the author.

LET THERE BE LIGHT: COLLECTING OIL LAMPS

After an unexpected Y2K revival, oil lamps are lighting up collector's lives.

Plug it in, turn it on. Dozens of times every day, we hit a light switch and never think about the way we alter the natural order by trading night for day. But as late as the early 1900s, a time that still resides in the memories of some old-timers, day was day, night was night and only the fire of a hearth and a slim flicker of an oil or gas lamp intruded on that certainty.

These days, oil lamps in particular are enjoying a renaissance, driven in part by Y2K.

"In the spring of 1999, Y2K hysteria hit the oil lamp industry off guard," says Dennis Hearn of oillamp.com. "Demand for emergency lighting alternatives created a nine-month back order on most oil lamps and related parts."

Hearn, a "born collector," has become a kind of oil lamp historian. His interest dates back to his rural Ohio childhood where he successfully bid on an old brass oil lamp. He was eight years old.

A hundred years ago, if there were any fears about the turn of the 20th century, they may have been about the new form of power called electricity and whether it would be as safe, cheap and reliable as the flicker of burning wick.

Early oil lamps were fueled by whale oil. Its high price led to the development of "burning fuels," which is just what these fuels did — to a fault. It was a dangerous mixture of high-proof alcohol and redistilled turpentine that caused untold injuries and accidental deaths.

Kerosene was introduced as a safer solution, and became widely used by the end of the Civil War.

With Edison's development of incandescent electric light in 1878, oil lamp manufacturers tried to stave off the competition by promoting form over function. Oil lamps became more ornamental through a pronounced use of design and color. It was a last-gasp effort to save a type of artificial illumination that was becoming obsolete.

Today, there's strong demand for vintage oil lamps as well as their components.

"Burners alone can command astonishing prices," Hearn says.

Lamps themselves range dramatically in price but 19th-century models in mint condition with attractive designs rarely go for under $300. An 1868 lamp with a milk glass base from the Atterbury Glass Company sells for $350. A Civil War-era lamp from the Cape Cod Glass Company retails for $395. Expect to pay about the same for an elegant blue font banquet oil lamp from the 1890s. At the high end comes an amber satin glass parlor lamp from the Pittsburgh Lamp, Brass and Glass Company. The late 19th-century piece goes for $2,475.

Kerosene lamps made in the early 20th century by Aladdin Industries, formerly the Mantle Lamp Company, are so popular there's an organization of collectors devoted to it called The Aladdin Knights. Aladdin oil lamps start at less than $100 for common types and skyrocket to several thousand dollars depending on rarity. Miniature Victorian oil lamps are also highly prized. Researchers speculate they were used primarily for sickrooms and children's rooms. They sell upwards of $200, but antiques in some of the rare colors, such as green satin, can top $500.

Tips:

• Today, reproductions flood the market. Hearn says wear on the bottom of the base and distinguishing mold marks can aid in authentication. He also recommends becoming familiar with commonly reproduced patterns.
• Inspect oil lamps well before purchasing. Small chips, replaced parts, etc. affect value.
• Add a good reference book to your library. Catherine M.V. Thuro is considered one of the best documentarians in the field, and her books have become bibles for lamp collectors.

"There is a primal human instinct that is drawn to the natural flame. It is intrinsic," says Hearn. "It is a symbol of heritage, progress and knowledge."

Iyna Bort Caruso is a freelance writer based in New York. She has written for more than two dozen newspapers, magazines and Web sites, including Country Living, the New York Times and Newsday.

Comments & Questions Welcomed
dhearn@oillamp.com

Copyrighted 2001