There are many collectors who sell antique oil lamps. The real question is how do you know that you are getting a true antique? The steps to figuring this out are quicker than you may think.
While strolling through your local antique store there will usually be several different oil lamps in the store to choose from. Don’t be fooled. Most of these are not true antiques unless you happen to have a very top notch store to go to.
The biggest indicator of whether or not the lamp you are looking at is antique will be the size of the lamp. Nine times out of ten antique oil lamps are not small in size. Most of them were made rather large so that they could burn for long periods of time without needing to be refilled. Smaller lamps are usually newer and not wordth the price being asked.
Another thing to look for is the globe of the oil lamp. Antique lamps should have the original globe still intact for them to be worth much. We all know that the globes are easily replaceable but the old globes are true works of art in themselves.
Original globes of antique oil lamps will be hand blown. You may think that this would be hard to identify but you would be surprised. Hand blown globes will have small imperfections through out the glass, these will come up as air bubbles in the glass.
The globe will also be thicker than in newer oil lamps. When you take the globe off look at the bottom and you will notice how thick and rough the edge is, if it is a true antique globe. The roughness is nothing to be concerned about it is simply where they actually cut it with a glass cutter and chipped the edge off to make it sit level in the lamp.
If the globe of the lamp is a replacement don’t fret. You may still have an antique base that is worth purchasing. A lot of lamps are old and the globes end up broken but this will not make it worthless to purchase.
The weight of the base will tell you a lot. If you pick up the lamp and it feels heavy for the size that is a good sign. Antique oil lamps were made very thick and heavy. You will also want to look at the part of the lamp that has holds the wick. On the older lamps this section will actually unscrew in two different places. This was simply how they were assembled.
The last indicator is not the same for all lamps. A lot of antique oil lamps will still have a dingy look to them. This may seem like a dirty film on the inside of the container. This occurs in lamps that have actually been used with kerosene. The kerosene will leave a brown film on the inside of the lamp. This does not ruin the item you will simply need to soak it in hot water for a long time to loosen up the film. It can however be used without cleaning it if you like.
Looking for antiques can be a fun day out either by yourself or with a friend. Oil lamps are a great and usually inexpensive way to decorate around your home. It is always nice to find that one piece that is back in the corner of a shop just going unnoticed. And remember the price tag is never set. You can barter on the price in most antique stores to try to get the best deal.
