RARE Antique Cranberry Optic Molded Miniature Oil Lamp/ Matching Chimney S1 - 526




Item History & Price

Information:
Reference Number: Avaluer:474787Featured Refinements: Miniature Oil Lamp
Original Description:
Cranberry Upshade 3803 S1-526 "Rare" Cranberry Optic MiniatureOil Lamp with Matching Optic Chimney, S1-526

CranberryOptic Molded Art Glass Miniature Oil Lamp, S1-526
About 9"tall overall About 71/2"tall to the top of shadeBase about 4 1/2" in diameter atwidest point


 

CranberryOptic Night Lamp with Matching Chimney S1-526 Rated "rare" Manufacturerand date of manufacture unknown; probably European in origin Burner thumbwheel marked "SPAR BRENNER" Sma...ll chip andminor flea-bites on bottom edge of shade   Tothe best of our knowledge this is the first time a lamp like this onehas been offered on eBay in the past 17 years
Background& History:  We don't have very muchinformation about this lovely Victorian Era night lamp.  We doknow that it is pictured in Figure526 of Frank & Ruth Smith's book "Miniature Lamps".  We alsoknow that Hulsebus (in her "Price Guide for Miniature Lamps") ratesthis lamp as being "rare" (see the note below on our use of theseratings in eBay listings.  But the lamp itself tells us quite abit.  Thehardware on the lamp (the collar, the burner and the shade ring) leadus to believe that the lamp is European, and possibly German, inorigin.  The collar is of a style seen only on European lamps andthe burner is marked "SPAR BRENNER" (German for "SavingsBurner").  These small, fuel-efficient night light burners aregenerally believed to have been made in Germany.  The shade ring, of course, is sized to fit over the burner gallery which is smallerthan the galleries on U. S. made burners and, again, is of a style onlyseen on European lamps.  We also know that the lamp is in factantique (more than 100 years old); we can tell that from the fact thatthe clear glass applied feet fluoresce, or glow, when viewed underblack light.  This phenomenon and how it can be used to roughlydate the age of a piece of glass is explained in another notebelow. 
Weare not surprised that the lamp is rated as being "rare" and is seenquite infrequently.  In fact in addition to this example, we haveseen only three other examples offered at various live auctions and noexample before this one offered on eBay.  We believe that'sbecause very few of these lamps were made.  These lamps wereexpensive and time consuming to make.  First, the lamp itself andthe matching chimney are made of a lovely red, or "cranberry" coloredglass.  The process by which cranberry glass was made is explainedin yet another note below.  Note that while the outside of theglass is smooth, the shade, the font and the chimney appear faintlypanelled.  This faint paneling is achieved, according to Catherine Thuro ("Oil Lamps II"), by a technique known as"optic molding".  In order to produce a lamp with a "softundulating pattern seen through a smooth exterior. .  .two moldswere used; a patterned one and a larger plain one.  A gather ofglass was first blown into the smaller patterned mold to produce a[piece] with relatively large and distinct protrusions. . . .Stillattached to the blowpipe the [piece] was removed from the patternedmold and placed inside the smooth larger mold.  When the glassblower further expanded the [piece] against the smooth interior of themold, it forced thick projections to the inside of the [piece] for thedesired effect.  The softness of the pattern distinguishesoptic-molded [pieces] from the faceted or shaped designs made bypressing."(Thuro, Oil Lamps II, page 11).  Finally the clearshell-like  glass feet had to be hand formed and applied by handto the bottom of the font.  So, considering the use of gold in thecreation of the glass' color and that the glass had to be heated, cooled and carefully reheated to achieve the color, the double moldingof each piece to achieve is shimmering panelled look and the artisancrafted and applied feet explain why lamps like this one werespeciality items and were only made in relatively small quantities.
Condition ofthis lamp: This lamp is in very good condition.  There is a small (about1/16" by 1/8") v-shaped chip on the outer bottom edge of the shade(which is of course hidden when the shade is in the shade ring). Thereare a couple of extremely minor flea-bites on the very bottom edge ofthe shade. Each of the five applied feet shows signs of some polishing(probably done at the factory to make sure the lamp stood straight whenplaced on a surface). We could find noother chips, cracks, damageor flaws in this lamp. The top edge of the shade is fire-polished andthebottom edge is rough cut.
The brasshardware on this lamp has been polished and is complete and undamaged. A German made "SPAR BRENNER" (literally "savings burner) screws tightlyinto the European style collar and the shade ring fits snugly over theburner gallery to hold the shade securely in place.  The burnerthumb wheel easily adjusts the old wick that is in this lamp.      Thefinal touch, which makes this lamp extra-special, is the matchingcranberry optic-molded chimney with the unusual 7/8" fitter used onlyin the Spar Brenner burners. This chimney is in excellentcondition.
Measurements areprovided below the first photo to the left.  
Thisis a truly fine example of an art glass night lamp of the Victorianera.  It is offered here for what we believe is the first timethat a lamp just like this one has been offered on eBay.
Cranberry or RubyGlass The manufacture of darkred, or"ruby", glass was a delicate and expensive process.  It requiredadding a solution of gold dissolved in Aqua Regia (a mixture ofhydrochloric and nitric acids) to the molten glass mixture. Getting the proportions of gold and acid correct was critical; minorerrors resulted in an unattractive muddy color rather than the desiredclear bright red color.  The amount of the gold and acid solutionadded to the molten glass determined the darkness of the color. Somewhat less solution resulted in a lighter colored "cranberry" glasswhile more of the solution resulted in a deep red "ruby" coloredglass.  This process is believed to have been initially discoveredby early Roman glass-makers.  The process however was lost and wasnot rediscovered until sometime in the 17th Century either by JohannKnuckel in Bohemia or by Antonio Neri in Florence, Italy.  It wasnot however until the 1920s that the chemistry was understood andexplained (by 1925 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry RichardZsigmondy).  The legend that ruby, or cranberry, glass was firstcreated when a nobleman tossed a gold coin into a vat of moltenglass  is just that . . . a legend without a basis in fact sincethe gold would have had to been first dissolved in Aqua Regia. The height of ruby and cranberry glass production appears to have beenthe Victorian era in Britain.Fluorescencein Old Clear GlassManganese dioxide(MnO2), found naturally as the mineral Pyrolusite, was used by by glass makers, as far back as ancient Egyptian and Roman times and up until about1915, as a decolorizing agent in order to make clear, colorlessglass.  The natural material used to make glass contains ironimpurities.  These impurities impart a coke-bottle green (andsometimes brown) color to the glass.  Manganese dioxide, added tothe molten glass mixture, neutralizes the coloring effects of the ironimpurities.  Adding manganese to glass has a side-effect of whichwe doubt old glass makers were aware.  While not itselffluorescent, manganese activates fluorescence in other elements orcompounds.  Clear glass which has had manganese dioxide added toit will glow with a green or yellow-green color when viewed under longwave ultra-violet ("black") light.  This fluorescence turns out tobe a useful test of the age of clear glass.  The United Statesdoes not have large amounts of naturally occurring Pyrolusite; themineral has to be imported from places like the Ukraine, South Africa, Brazil, Australia and China.  After the outbreak of World War I inEurope, manganese became increasingly hard to get;  first, it wasconsidered a strategic war material (it is essential to iron and steelproduction) and, second, the normal supplies lines were disrupted bythe war.  And, so, after about 1915, U. S. glass makers switchedto other decolorizing agents (e.g. selenium and arsenic oxides). Thus, clear glass which fluoresces (glows) under long wave ultra-violet(UVA or "black") light can be presumed to have been made before1915.  [Incidentally, manganese dioxide is also the compoundresponsible for the "sun-purpling" of old clear glass; when exposed toshort-wave ultra-violet light (UVC) (present in sun-light, or ingermicidal lamps) over an extended period of time, the manganesedioxide will impart a purplish color to the glass.  It has beenreported that unscrupulous antique dealers (especially in theSouthwestern U. S.) would intentionally expose old glass to the intensedesert sun (or to ultra-violet germicidal lamps) to create this purplecolor.  Purists among glass collectors consider this to be atravesty and believe that intentional or artificial sun-purplingdecreases, rather than enhances, the value of old glass items.] [Notethat is can be quite challenging to get an accurate (i.e., that looksthe same as what one sees with their eyes) photograph of thefluorescence in the glass.  We work hard to get a photograph thatlooks like what we see, but there is usually some minor discrepancyeither in the exact color or amount of the fluorescence.  Shouldyou examine a fluorescent lamp under black light, in a darkenedenvironment, it will glow, but may not look exactly like the photographwe provided.]Aboutthe Use of Words Like "Scarce" and "Rare" Whenwe see eBaylistings which utilize words like "Scarce" and "Rare"--especially whenthose words are applied to items that we know to be extra-ordinarilycommon we find it disturbing.  We realize that some eBayers, nothaving or knowing of a better way of assessing an item's scarcity, usethese terms quite subjectively and frequently based on their ownpersonal experience. They simply don't know whether an item iscommon, scarce or rare.  We take two steps to describe thescarcity of a lamp.First, weonly use the words "Scarce", "Rare", "Very Rare", "Very Very Rare" and"Extremely Rare" if the item in question is judged to be so by anacknowledged outside and independent source.  For miniature lamps, we use the ratings in Marjorie Hulsebus 2006 edition of the "PriceGuide for Miniature Lamps".  Marjorie's ratings are also somewhatsubjective (they are based on the collective view of a panel of 12experienced miniature lamps collectors--we were members of that panel), but were at least arrived at independently of the sale or offering ofany particular lamp. We don't always agree with the Price Guides ratings but if we disagree, we will still quote the guide's rating and then provide the reason whywe don't agree.Second, since Juneof 2002, we have collected and recorded data on the offering of over63, 000 listed miniature lamps on eBay and over 7.300 lamps offered atselected live auctions (ones which we attended or from which we wereable to get reliable data).  We've reviewed many tens of thousandsof eBay listings.  From among those, we identified the ones thatare listed in the standard reference books and recorded basicinformation (identifying features, condition, auction end-date, etc.)on each.  When the auction ends we go back and record whether thelamp sold or not and for how much.  We keep all of this data in anonline database and make the database available free of charge tomembers of the Night Light Club and to others who have requestedaccess.  We don't see every listed miniature lamp that's offeredon eBay, but we estimate that we see more than 85-90% of them. When we quote the Price Guide's scarcity rating for a given lamp, wegenerally also provide information, from our database, on the number oftimes during the period we've collected data that we've seen that lampoffered on eBay.  And it's this data that allows us tosubstantiate, refine or, at times, to respectfully disagree with therating in the Price Guide.All rightsreserved.  The contents of this listing are protectedby U. S. copyright laws and by eBay policy.  The use ofsubstantial portions of this listing verbatim or with onlyinconsequential changes without the express written consent ofthe authors  is prohibited.  Such use, at thediscretion of the authors, may be reported to eBay as being inviolation of eBay policies.  Please contact us if you wish to useany portion of this listing in your own listings or for other purposes. Our objective is to have happy, satisfied customers.  Wewill work with you to satisfactorily resolve any problems. Feel free toask any questions prior to bidding.  We try to answer allquestions promptly.  Just click on eBay's "Ask seller a question"link above to send us an email through eBay. Pleasebid only if you intend to honor your bid with payment. All items aresold "As Is". We do our best to describe all items accurately. However, mistakes and oversights can occur. Returns will be accepted within 30days if item is found to be not as described. In general refunds willbe given as money back and will include the original bid amount andinitial shipping costs (but not the return shipping cost). Refunds willbe given once the item is received and verified to be in the samecondition as when it was sold. Shipping Information eBay's shipping calculator should show the correct shippingcharges.  We charge only the actual postage/insurance costsincurred.  All items shipped are insured.  Insurance isincluded in shipping costs.  We do combine multiple purchases tosave you on shipping costs.  If you win more than one ofour items, contact us for revised and reduced shipping costs.  Ifyou overpay for shipping, or if we inadvertently overcharge you forshipping, we will refund the overage.  (If we underestimate theshipping costs, which occasionally happens, we absorb the additionalcosts).  We ship using the United State Postal Service and wrapour items as securely as  we can.  We insure all items thatwe ship. Information forInternationalBuyers International buyers not using Paypal, pleaseuse a form of payment denominated in U.S. dollars.  We generallyship items internationally using either the United States PostalServices "Global Priority Mail" or "First Class International" mail, depending on the size and value of the shipment.  If we can shipthe item for less than the eBay quoted shipping price, we will notifyyou and refund any overpayment.  We mark international shipmentsas "antique" (when the item is in fact an antique) since most countriesdo not levy import tariffs on antique items.  Import duties, taxes, andcharges are not included in the item price or shipping cost. Thesecharges are the buyer's responsibility. Please check with yourcountry's customs office to determine what these additional costs willbe prior to bidding or buying.  Please also note that thereceiving country's Custom Service may cause delays in item's arrival. Interestedin learning more about miniature lamps?  Want to meetother miniature lamp collectors?  Contact us and we'll arrange toprovide you with information about joining the Night Light Club. Please check out our otherauctions

 



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