"Free" Table Lamp, et al

This is the first lamp on today's post.

I don't have a "before" shot.

This is the "after" shot.

details on glass and base

I love lamps.

I love free lamps. 

I love free lamps after I fix them.

The framed picture on the wall is NOT that crooked. My crooked shot makes it look even more crooked than it is...lol.

This is the second lamp on today's post.

I don't have an "after" shot because it has not been restored.

This will be the "before" shot. 

Got it?

I have two identical lamps. The first one has only the "after" shot and is the older and cost $6. The second picture is the "before" shot and the lamp (free) is still sitting (lying in a box) in the unrepaired/unrestored state. 

Second lamp (before)

This second one was sitting on a "free table." It had been rejected by many people who saw no beauty or utility in its form.  So, it sat with the plastic ice trays that had been melted somehow and the plastic purse with the broken clasp and handle--such sad company for such a splendid lamp.

I have had this a few years. After it sat inside and on the porch, I finally asked someone to put it in the basement. I did not mean for it to be put on the floor where water has started running in!  So, the little feet look a bit greenish. The urge to kill occurs at these moments.

First Lamp aka Restored lamp (after)

About 25 years ago I found the pretty lamp identical to the ugly one and paid only $6 for it and a similar one. I made so much money from the other items I found that day and dedicated my profits to restoring and repairing the lamp. I hate to say I spent $80 having the finish restored and the wiring replaced on the first lamp. But, it suits me perfectly.

It has not been replaced by newer or finer. I bought a second lamp that day and sold it for the price of both lamps, so you might say the "after" lamp was free, also.

Actually, these were cheap lamps when new, made of pot metal. So, the cheap becomes high end over time...works for me. These may not be your style. They are mine.

The lamp shade was given to me by a friend who wanted a different lampshade on his antique lamp. I was doing a happy dance while trying to convince him to keep the lamp shade he gave me. He bought the lamp from the same lamp shop where I had the restoration work done.

Finial
The first lamp, the one in the "after" shot, sports a finial that was on the second lamp, the one with the "before" shot. Some day, it will be taken to the lamp shop where I can rummage through old finials and find a match or something close.

Now what?
I am not into matched lamps at all.  I would probably use the second one in another room, just not in the room with the other. I absolutely know it will be restored no matter where I use it. Green feet are not welcome in my home

My lamps     

The last time I bought a new lamp was in 1968. Those two are gone. Now, all my lamps are from between 75 and 100 years old. My oh my! Those 1968 lamps would be nearly 45 years old now!

How I could afford $80 to restore lamp
That Saturday in June, about 25 years ago I had to drive 75 (150 round trip) miles for 2 hours work. I made sure the appointment gave me time to shop at yard sales beforehand. At each yard sale, I purchased what I wanted and things I did not want that were items I knew would fetch a good price at an antique shop. After I bought everything I wanted, I stopped by the next antique shop and offered them my goodies at a price they could not resist. That is the day I bought this lamp at a yard sale for $6.

At the end of the day, I had made about $200 from my job.  I had another $50 from selling my finds and still had items in the trunk of the car. In the next few days, with little effort, I had collected more money from items bought that Saturday.   I felt entitled to fix the lamp. A shop in another town restores antique lamps, fire hydrants, antique fire house anythings, old/antique Hunter ceiling and table model fans and mining equipment.

Your fans
Is anyone here so enamored of antique fans lamps as I?