Antique Unlisted Crystal Miniature Oil Stem Lamp, Glows

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Crystal Pressed Glass Miniature Stem Lamp Crystal Pressed Glass Miniature Stem Lamp About 5 1/2" to top of collar About 3 1/2" in diameter at base Crystal Pressed Glass Miniature Stem Lamp Manufacturer and date of manufacture unknown Glass fluoresces under "black" light Miller oval band collar dates from 1890s Hornet burner marked "P & A Hornet" Excellent condition Fluorescence indicates pre-1915 manufacture Background & History: We could not find this small stem (or stand) lamp in any of our reference books. It looks quite similar in form to the old Moon & Star lamp shown on page 96 of Ann McDonald's "Evolution of the Night Lamp", but the embossing on this lamp is different; it has moon-like circles on the font, but no stars anyw Two characteristics of this lamp lead us to believe that it is in fact an antique lamp. First it has a somewhat unusual collar. We found a collar pictured and described on page 41 of Catherine Thuro's book "Oil Lamps: The Kerosene Era in North America". She identifies the collar as a "Miller oval band collar" and reports that it was advertised by Edward Miller & Company of Meriden, CT in the 1890s. Since this style of collar is not particularly common (Thuro describes the group of collars to which this belongs as "less common" and a bit further on as "scarce, but not rare") it leads us to believe that this type of collar is not likely to be found on a newer lamp. As best as we can tell this collar is original to the lamp and has not been replaced. Second, when viewed under "black" light, this lamp fluoresces fairly strongly (see the last photo). Our note below explains the phenomenon and how it can be used to establish that a piece of clear glass was made before or after about 1915. Thus both the collar and the fluorescence lead us to conclude that this lamp was indeed manufactured prior to World War I or about 1915. It is hard to discern from inspecting the lamp just how it was made. T are 3 mold lines on the foot which extend up the stem but seem to disappear when the meet the bottom of the font. T is no evidence of mold lines on the font and certainly not on the un-embossed shoulder. It seems reasonable that the foot and stem were made in a single three part mold. But t is no evidence that the foot and stem were fused to the font after being molded. We thus suspect that a somewhat complex mold was used with a single part for forming the font with its embossed design attached to three parts which closed around the stem and foot. However it was actually done, it was done quite well. Condition of this lamp: This lamp is in excellent condition with no discernible damage, defects or flaws in the glass. The brass collar (described above) and burner (which have been polished) are in fine condition with no splits, cracks, dents or other damage. The burner thumb wheel is marked "P & A HORNET"; the burner thumb wheel turns freely; t is no wick in this lamp. A clear glass chimney, also in fine condition, completes this lamp. Measurements are provided below the photo to the left. This is a somewhat unusual little stem lamp, one which has escaped the notice of the several authors of the standard reference books on oil/kerosene lamps from the late 1800s and early 1900s. It is an attractive example of pressed glass in a simple and classic design. Fluorescence in Old Clear Glass Manganese dioxide (MnO 2), found naturally as the mineral Pyrolusite, was used by by glass makers, as far back as ancient Egyptian and Roman times and up until about 1915, as a decolorizing agent in order to make clear, colorless glass. The natural material used to make glass contains iron impurities. These impurities impart a coke-bottle green (and sometimes brown) color to the glass. Manganese dioxide, added to the molten glass m... read more

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