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Your Lamps/Lights for the dark…

I used to have a DIY listening lamp that I made in 2012, IIRC. 2 jumbo blue LEDs. Radio Shack was still a brick and mortar store back then, so I bought the LEDs, diode bridge, filter cap, voltage regulator (LM7805), heatsink and board. No transformers in stock, so I pulled one out of an old, broken radio I had. I plugged it in the back of my receiver (switched outlet). This way, it was automatically on and off with the receiver. It emitted the perfect amount of light. Listening in the dark was still dark, but I didn't spill what ever beverage I had. Unfortunately, I lost it in my travels.
 
As I have mentioned on prior posts, I collect vintage original mid century lamps and lighting. Mostly from the 60’s and 70’s, as I really like the outlandish stuff of that era. The crazier, the better (for my collection) - really love the psychedelic lamps of that era too! Fortunately, I have a detached garage where I can keep my crazy stuff, so that there is a definitive line of demarcation between the house, and the 60s/70s man cave insanity.

As luck would have it, I came across a gem today. A real doozie. Definitely mid century, but it also feels like it crosses the intersection of Victorian, Roman, and maybe even Egyptian style elements (the gold band in the middle of the marble section has hieroglyphics looking markings on it). It met all of my checkboxes, and then some. It stands well over 3 feet tall. Without further adu, I present to you THIS masterpiece!

I have fun with these crazy things, but always ponder what the original purchasers of said pieces were thinking when they bought these, and placed them in their homes as legitimate decorative elements. All I can think is WOW…things really were wild in the 60s/70s! I miss that era!

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With, and without illumination…
 
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Judging by the metalwork, may be a Rembrandt. I picked up one for a whopping 3 bux at a yard sale last week, needed an era-appropriate on/ off twist switch socket. Had a newer 3-way socket, whole head was loose. Dug in my lamp parts pile, found a proper socket, straightened the base of the shade-retaining bell, all's well!
The hanging fixture I built up around the heavy glass dome shade from local mega-thrift store, 3 bux for that too. with more parts from the pile. Double sockets with pull chain switches is a mid-century vintage assembly.
 

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Catmanboo said:
Hi Judging by the metalwork, may be a Rembrandt. I picked up one for a whopping 3 bux at a yard sale last week, needed an era-appropriate on/ off twist switch socket. Had a newer 3-way socket, whole head was loose. Dug in my lamp parts pile, found a proper socket, straightened the base of the shade-retaining bell, all's well!
The hanging fixture I built up around the heavy glass dome shade from local mega-thrift store, 3 bux for that too. with more parts from the pile. Double sockets with pull chain switches is a mid-century vintage assembly.
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Rembrandt, very cool. Mine, from a complete different direction! I really like what you did btw!

Was thinking about the possibility of putting in a rotating beacon inside the glass globe on mine, for a lighthouse effect, which would just enhance its bizarre nature, but making it fit might be an issue. I will probably do a “King Henry the VIII” maneuver on mine. It’s already 99% of its way to being a hanging swag lamp, so I’ll probably just take it entirely in that direction by surgically removing its head. Off to the gallows! I’ll finish off the bottom half as a separate (traditional) lamp, add an existing shade from my vintage inventory, and drop it off at Goodwill to generate some revenue for a great cause. I think that the top and bottom of this beast really do need to go in a separate direction. The marriage was wrong, and it time for a legal separation! The top will make a great/classic 60s hanging swag lamp. More my style…

Nice to find another lamp nerd! When vintage hifi mostly dried up and got priced to the moon, I somehow landed on this hobby too - as a creative outlet. 60s/70s hifi gear tends to go great with the same era lighting. I’m having a lot of fun with this additional hobby. When it comes to vintage lamps, ‘parts are parts’ (and are highly interchangeable) as evidence of my latest acquisition. Like legos, you can build Frankenstein lamps limited only by your own imagination (given access to spare parts). No stinkin capacitors or resistors to go bad here, just an occasional lamp cord, socket, or switch. Color LED bulbs also give you an additional creative element, and can be powered for practically nothing @ 1 to 2 watt power requirements per bulb. Low to virtually no power consumption, virtually no heat from the bulbs either - safe and fun to use. I can now power 50 to 100 lamps (with LED) for the same power requirement that it took to power just one 100 watt incandescent bulb of a few years ago, and the color quality/impact is wild!
 
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For more positive effect for your donations, consider salvation army or local-based charity thrift stores. Goodwill has , in the last decade or so become quite a price-gouge outfit. Notorious for pricing used donations ABOVE the original retail prices. Look up goodwill on charity navigator for further information. I used to be a goodwill junkie years ago before their management got too greedy. Anything of perceived considerable value goes to their own online auction site or never hits the sales floor from employee cherry-picking or being held for backroom purchasers, but this is also true for other such organizations. Ive seen it first-hand, having years of volunteer duty in the "trade".
 
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Scored a proper glass globe shade for the Rembrandt yesterday at the same place I found the hanging lamp glass for a total of $1.07 with tax, now its completely stock again
:banana: Have to use bulb extenders for the lo-watt bulbs I prefer for such things.
 

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This my favorite lamp I ever had. Sold it to someone on AK I believe in Texas. The orange part was indirectly lit and appeared to glow. Super cool lamp.

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Found a cool vintage MCM tension pole lamp a few weeks ago, my guess is that this one is from the 50’s. I can’t find any info on it. Temporarily put some color LED bulbs in it, but don’t know which direction I’ll ultimately go with it (bulb wise). It’d probably show best in just warm white, but it’s a man-cave lamp - so I’ve got some freedom with what I can do with it. No one to offend but myself, and for listening purposes, it’s sometimes better to just avoid the standard white light route!

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turnitup said:
Found a cool vintage MCM tension pole lamp a few weeks ago, my guess is that this one is from the 50’s. I can’t find any info on it. Temporarily put some color LED bulbs in it, but don’t know which direction I’ll ultimately go with it (bulb wise). It’d probably show best in just warm white, but it’s a man-cave lamp - so I’ve got some freedom with what I can do with it. No one to offend but myself, and for listening purposes, it’s sometimes better to just avoid the standard white light route!

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The gold bits look like something hanging on the walls in the oval office!
 
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