Perfume lamps were once a necessity

#Middlebury #Kovels

This chorus girl lamp in a top hat and red dress was made in the Art Deco style of the 1920s. It sold for over twice the estimate at $1,968.

In the unsanitary world of the 18th and 19th century, bad smells were everywhere. There was no garbage pickup, no indoor flushing toilets and no refrigeration to keep food from spoiling. In the 1800s, a special lamp was used to remove the strong odors in hospitals and mortuaries. It was a catalytic lamp that burned an alcohol-based fuel. A cotton wick burned for a few minutes to heat a stone. After the flame was out, the heated stone turned odors into carbon dioxide and water.

In 1897, a Frenchman improved the lamp by adding perfume to the fuel to make a scented room. Many lamps were made in figural shapes suitable for a living room or bedroom. Today, perfume lamps heat with electricity. The best 20th-century perfume lamps were made by French makers Robj, Aladin or Etling. A perfume lamp shaped like an Art Deco chorus girl sold at a Skinner auction in Boston several years ago for $1,968. The 10-inch lamp was marked “Meu Bach Aladin.”

Q: Vintage sofas are much lower priced than new ones. I like Victorian sofas with curved backs, but don’t want to learn my bargain sofa has a problem I can’t fix.

A: If you want a 19th-century sofa, you should buy from a knowledgeable dealer. So little of the frame shows that it is difficult to tell a 19th-century sofa from an early 20th-century one. We once told the boss at a house sale that we would pay the asking price for a sofa if we could slit the back upholstery to be sure the frame was old. The marks from old tools said it was old, and we bought it.

Smell any old upholstered furniture. Often, the smell will not leave. Decide if the upholstery is a color and condition you want to live with. Re-upholstering furniture is very expensive. Sit on the sofa to be sure it is comfortable. Some seats are low, bumpy, too narrow or much harder than most modern pieces. Some of that can be fixed with decorative pillows. Be sure you can get it in your van or car. If you want to use it in a basement or second-floor room, the stairs may have too low a ceiling or a turn that makes it impossible to take it inside. But if all looks OK, you will have a sturdy bargain.

Current Prices

Jewelry box, embossed flowers and leaves, silver plate, velvet lined, marked DS, 1960s, 5 x 3 1/2 inches, $15.

Game, bingo cage, wire, round spinning ball dispenser, handle, ball slide, stand, 73 wooden bingo balls, 1960s, 12 x 14 inches, $75.

Chatty Cathy doll, vinyl head, hard plastic body, blonde hair and blue eyes, c. 1962, 20 inches, $200.

Tip: You can use an old iron cooking utensil. The finish on the iron will not be damaged if you wash the item properly after using it. Don’t let it get rusty.

For more collecting news, tips and resources, visit www.Kovels.com.

(c) 2018 King Features Synd. Inc.