Posted 3 years ago
kwqd
(1186 items)
This lamp is about 25" high not counting the harp which has "WESCAL" stamped on it. The body is glass and the furniture is thin solid brass which has a coating to prevent tarnishing. It appears to be all original and has a U.S. made Leviton socket and old brown cord, so it may be all made in the USA.
This was a genuine curb find. Found in front of a house that had just been sold. I had to park and walk back about a block to go through that small pile of stuff at the curb. This was the only thing that looked to be of good quality and in reasonable shape. This lamp actually looks new, but I think dates to the 1950s-1970s. At least that is the date range which seems to be attributed to WESCAL lamps.
Actually, I am not 100% sure that WESCAL was a lamp company and not just the maker of lamp hardware, but many U.S. companies put their mark on the top of the harp and a lot of folks are calling lamps thus marked as being made by WESCAL..... Still researching this.
Anyway, I was headed to my new house and found this lamp about ten blocks from my old hacienda. Still researching "WESCAL". Not sure of the exact dimensions of this lamp as I cannot find my tape measure.
Nice lamp,, I think my life, might be beyond finding things
on the side of the road ..I think now it’s switched
things are finding me on the side of the road
LOL, Vynil. I am heading in that direction, myself....
Thanks for loving my lamp!
Pretty much all lamps use leviton fittings even on Canadian ones here. It definitely looks 80's to me as the brass is like a lot of lamps I have seen during that period. Hope that brings you closer as you cannot get better since you know the name !~
Yeah, but imported lamps typically have sockets that were made in China. Even Leviton has some manufacturing in China. The socket on this lamp says "Made in USA". The large U.S. lamp makers were mostly out of business around 2000 and the majority of lamps sold in the U.S. after that were imported. There are still a few U.S. companies making lamps, but a lamp this old stands a better chance of having all U.S. made parts, including the glass part. Not a cinch but a good chance. If it was made in the U.S. there is at least a chance that I might find out something about the maker.
Could definitely be '80s. The padding on the bottom of the lamp is already loose, so I may pull it all the way off and see if there are any clues on the base. I am most interested in finding out who made the glass part.
Thanks vcal, fortapache, jscott0363, Kevin, dav2no1 and Watchsearcher!
Just my observations when I actually went out to buy some nice lamps in the 1980's and the base brass identical was on a lot of lamps made then into the 90's also. A friend had no table lamps in a new apartment back then. I used to go to a lot of newer furniture stores back then to see what was new and looked closely at the design.
Great information, PhilDMorris! Thanks! This lamp is pretty good quality. The bottom edge of the base is rounded over toward the inside so that it will be less likely to scratch the surface it is sitting on, even if the pad is missing. On the negative side, however, the pad is very thin. I guess in the 1980s and 1990s a lot of lamps were being imported from Japan and Taiwan, so getting into those decades it is probably a crap shoot as to whether it was made in the USA. I only really care because I may be able to identify the glass maker if it was made in the USA.
Thanks for checking out my curb find lamp Jenni, AnythingObscure, Blammoammo and Alfie21!
Thanks blunderbuss2!
Thanks for your comments, Eileen! Yep, pretty spiffy. I think the brass has been lacquered. I am from a working class family and my Dad brought a lot of nice stuff home after walking the dog. I cannot believe what some people throw away! Not recycle, just toss in the garbage.
Sounds like you found a nice lamp, too! Congrats!