The Killer Mobile Device for Victorian Women
Adrift in a sea of digital apps for every imaginable function, we often feel our needs are met better today than in any previous era. But consider the chatelaine, a device popularized in the 18th century that attached to the waist of a wo…
If These Shirts Could Talk: The Tantalizing Tales Behind Used Clothes
The mysterious packages kept arriving, some from eBay, others from the Home …
Gloriously Grotesque 19th-Century Pipes
The meerschaum pipes carved in Eastern Europe at the end of the 19th century are among the most bizarre and improbable concoctions in decorative art. Some feature …
In the Hot Seat: Is Your Antique Windsor a Fake?
While researching her book, "Killer Stuff and Tons of Money," Maureen Stanton came across all sorts of characters. For years, she shadowed her antiques-dealer friend …
Bizarro Beauty Products, from 1889 to Now
We tend to think of the union of vanity and technology as a particularly modern affliction. It's only recently that science brought the world botox and collagen injections, skin peels, liposucti…
Love at First Kite: How Pizza and Pente Led to One Oklahoman's High-Flying Obsession
Vintage kites from all over the world hang from the ceiling and walls of Richard Dermer’s popula…
Pin-Up Queens: Three Female Artists Who Shaped the American Dream Girl
It’s easy to think of pin-up art as a charming relic of the old boys’ club—images that might line the walls …
Say Ahhh: An Oral Surgeon's Quest to Reimagine the Garage-Band Guitar
It’s not unusual for men of a certain age to have a soft spot in their hearts for the look of vintage guitars and the sound…
Tokens for Sweethearts, in Times of War
A keepsake, an item that recognizes a loved one, strikes a deep, sentimental chord in each of us—particularly that of a sweetheart. The popularity of keepsakes grew in the United States during the period from 1917 to 1919 as our country ent…
American Picker Dream, Part I: Mike Wolfe On His Love Affair With Bikes
I was walking to school one day and saw all these bikes in the garbage. I was just amazed because I didn't have one and I found it incredible that anyone was throwing them out. So I gathered…
Victorian urn? oil lamp? Nickle silver | Unsolved mystery items26744 of 27529 |  |  |
Posted 3 years ago
boomchild
(1 item)
13 ins tall faces on two sides, later made into a ele lamp, fixture dated 1910, quite heavy. no rust no green no real bad tarnish, a magnet dosn't stick to it, made from a 4 sided mold in perfect condition! what is it?
Help us close this case. Add your knowledge below.
Create an account or login in order to post a comment.
Victorian LampsFor thousands of years, lamp technology more or less stayed static, and no …
So much detail there isnt a blank place on this thing!
Your Lamp base is made of "Spelter", or white metal (often called "pot metal" in disrespect). It is an alloy of tin and lead usually. The lead was added to keep the metal from being too brittle. Spelter was the plastic of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It was easily molded and relatively inexpensive. Frequently it was silver plated, more often it was painted or "bronzed". Occasionally you will find a copper plated piece.
Spelter items have endured the years well and are quite collectible today. You have a nice lamp. Congratulations!