Missouri Michael found this Asian lamp for me at an auction! It is a Silvestri Brothers chalkware lamp from 1955, and it had seen better days...
In fact we couldn't even plug the lamp in because of the frayed cord. Apparently some one had tried to extend the cord/repair it and did a pretty shotty job.
I'm not plugging that in...
The switch was also in need of replacing, so basically the only usable parts were the shade harp and the actual chalkware body of the lamp. So after a trip to Lowes, I bought a brand new socket and an extension cord. Thanks to VonLip for getting me motivated to get this project going!
(Yes, you're reading that right. 15ft.)
The tables where I'd planned to put the lamp are out of normal reach of a standard cord. I really only needed an 10ft cord, but they only came in three, six, eight, and 15ft cords. The first time I put the lamp fully together, I noticed a small hold in the base where the cord was supposed to be fed into first. So, I took the whole thing apart only to realize the new thicker cord would not fit. So I put it together a second time...
(Notice anything missing? ... Damn it.)
(That's better, third time is the charm!)
Yay! It works! After I got it rewired, it needed a good scrub to get the 60+ years of dirt, and there were a few places to touch up where the chalkware was chipped.
The gold paint accents really needed to be touched up on the figures, and the edges of their douli (bamboo hats) were badly chipped.
The touch ups did wonders! And I bordered the chips on the edge of the hats with gold paint as well, and it looks like they have always been that way.
Here it is on the tables in the living room! I love how it turned out, and it gives off just the right amount of illumination with a 40 watt bulb. AND it's SO 1950's!
One less thing to do around here, haha if only all the projects were this easy! I have been letting the grass grow (as we are in a terrible drought and I am afraid if I cut it it will die.) That along with the "summer clutter" that accumulates, Casablanca is starting to look more like
Grey Gardens!
Haha it's always something!
-Mick-
6 comments:
Great job!!! I wish my friends would pick up lamps for me!
Great job Mick! I've found sometimes that you can use an extension cord to rewire a lamp, especially if you want to get that extra cord length, but you do have to be careful that the new cord will actually fit through the existing path for the cord. Looks really great.
Yes! The cord I used got through the metal stem in the lamp, but not the exterior hole. Luckily this style lamp has 3 slightly raised legs on it that let the cord out the bottom, so it all worked out!
That lamp found the perfect home! I have been weeding through projects around here too. I feel like summer is gonna be gone before I know it then I won't be able to get the things done that I want to get done. Panic!!
Erica
You did a great job on the lamp! I love the Grey Gardens allusion. :)
WOW! What a beautiful lamp Mick! It looks perfect where you put it too. Good job!
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