Oil lamps

I'm finding that collecting some of these old oil lamps is a fun "hobby". Anyone see any neat old oil lamps lately?

I have two. One was my maternal grandmothers and the other my paternal great-grandmothers. I have used them when electricity goes out but if you're not careful they will smoke and make the ceiling black. Propane is definitely cleaner and brighter in a no electric situation LOL...

We have a couple, but they're not old. We have a neat metal railroad lantern that Melody gave Howie, though. Just a little oil seeps from the crimp around the bottom of it, so I have it on a plate. We've used an extra clear lamp oil that doesn't have much odor or smoke to it. I think we bought the oil at Meijer.

DH and I have collected these over the years. We have both the metal lanterns and the glass lamps. We like to light the lanterns and hang them across the front of the porch at Christmas, it gives a beautiful glow and from a distance looks like stars. We have two with red globes so they add to the Christmas feel.

I have one old railroad lantern with the red light cover, I dug it up at an abandoned track when I was a kid. It is out in the garage waiting for me to clean the past 30 years or more of dust off of it so it will not look so horrid when I give it away :~) I always meant to collect them but so never managed to do it so the poor old thing has just hung in garages all these years looking sad and forlourn. Someone said it was a sigbalmans light but I don't kbow for sure.

I went to an antique store today and the prices for these things are all over the place. It's hard to know what they're really worth. Some were only $4.95 and others were nearly $50.00. How can you find out if they're worth what these vendors are asking?

Now that is a tough question to answer since in antiques and collectables an item is worth whatever you are willing to pay for it. And age, condition and rarity play an important part in an items value. If you can identify the lantern by type, color, manufacturer, age and condition you could probably get information on it from collectables books at your local library.

Or maybe post a picture here and see if anyone recognizes it. Mine is about 7.5 inches tall and says EMBURY NO. 40 on the glass but has no other markings that I can see. I have no idea if it is worth 5.00 or 500.00. But I do know it is a great dust collector ;~)

Zany,That looks like an old Conductors light,the type they would wave to signal the front of the train,very nice !!!

Well, if I ever meet a conductor or someone who collects railroad memorabillia I will give it to them and quit letting it collect dust in the garage! It is one of those things you can't throw away but it really holds no interest to me personally. Hey! I know...any collectors out there want a lantern for postage?

edited to add...as is...no extra charge for 30 years of accumulated garage dust!

This message was edited Wednesday, Apr 16th 12:02 AM

I do! I do! Please!, Please! DH will think I'm wonderful and all the time I spend on DG is worth it if I'm lucky enough to get it.

I have some of the old railroad lanterns and have put some to good use. I have them hanging on shepard hooks outside and fill them with citronella oil to keep bugs away and they look neat.

And the winner of this dusty old lantern in all its aged and neglected glory is gingerlily !

Will our winner please email me her Address so this long neglected piece of Americana can finally have a home where it is not only appreciated but causes a husband to think a good thought about his spouse and her time at DG!

Congratulations gingerlily !!!

That's great! I am glad gingerlily won!

between all the oil lamps and candles the last time we coumted was 72 flames in the living room it takes 45 min to refill and replace everything and when "most" of them are lit in the winter the living room is 85 degrees and the rest of the house is cold because the thermostate is in the living room

So now we know the monetary value of this particular lamp is the price of one priority mail stamp ;~)

http://www.barleycorn-antiques.co.uk/htm/lamps.htm
http://www.acmi.net.au/AIC/MAGIC_LANTERNS.html

Oil lamps -- mmm. That caught my attention! Because, it is the most needed appliance when the power goes off and that is very frequent here. But nowadays, the battery lighting is taking over though expensive and uncumbersome. Solar lighting is yet to get its due popularity - investment cost is high.

We have quite a few oil lamps at home and a few are many decades old. I have salvaged 3-4 of them from going away from us to the junkyard and am still using them. The full brass burners are from the famous James Hinks & Co. It is such a pleasure to operate the mechanism. It is considered an antique now. We use kerosene as fuel.

I know a certain person here in Mysore whose hobby is collecting old oil lamps. He has over a hundred types of lamps from different parts of the world. His collection is quite amazing. He sometimes holds exhibitions at various places and his unique hobby has been featured in newspapers and magazines. I have seen his collection and I had visited his home once. If he finds something interesting in the antique market, he buys them (lamps) and he tries to correct the damage (if any) himself and makes it work!

Dinu, those lamps are beautiful. They would not be left to collect dust in my garage. But those prices are way out of my league!

Oh, they are so beautiful. The prices are almost as amazing. :)