Early Brass Spelter Hanging Oil Solar Lamp Harp & Font

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Early Brass Hanging Oil Solar ?Lamp Harp and Cut Glass Font Up for auction is a rare hanging oil lamp harp made of brass with spelter or white metal ornamentation picked from an estate in Upper State New York . This fixture was likely made in the very late 1850's or early 1860's when kerosene lamps were just being introduced to North America . Later hanging harp lamps were made of cast iron and as a result were not as three dimensional in nature. The frame might also be an adaptation of an earlier solar lamp frame but this is only speculation. The harp comes with its original font which has a very unusual method of attaching to the rest of the frame. The font has a metal connector cemented to the glass peg that forms the bottom of the font. This metal connector fits into a corresponding 5/8" deep, 1 5/8" diameter opening at the bottom of the frame. The font stays in place solely by gravity and t is no method of locking it in place. The pear shaped font has an early number two brass collar and is made of molded lead glass that has two wheel cut oval patterns encircling the font. When viewed closely, the cut ovals produce interesting light refraction patterns. The inside of the font has some trapped air bubbles and one of them is broken open. These are original manufacturing flaws and the font is free of any cracks or chips caused read more

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