Brass Nautical Lamp? Railroad? Trench Art? A Little Help Please...

[SDIceMan]

Good morning all. Long time lurker, first time poster. I started visiting the site when I purchased my Minelab Safari in July of 2011, and I've gradually made my way around the site exploring most of the forums. The Garage Sale Finds! section has become one of my favorites. I had the opportunity to use your stories as my inspiration when I was furloughed from my Federal government job last month and needed a way to make a few extra bucks in the interim. I began going to estate sales and local auctions and needless to say, I'm hooked! What began as a way to make ends meet has turned into a fun & profitable hobby.

Some of my success stories so far have been a pair of Vintage Lefton Cherub Clip-On Christmas Ornaments that I purchased for $1 and sold for $90 on eBay, as well as a Tri-Tronics Sport Junior Dog Shock Collar with Remote that I purchased for $2.70 and sold for $102.00 on eBay.

One item that I picked up at an estate sale this past weekend has me stumped for how best to accurately describe it. It is a brass lamp on a wooden base that stands about 32" including the glass shade. My first inclination is that it is nautical in origin, but it could have something to do with the railroad, and a friend suggested in could be trench art created from some military implement. And I suppose, barring all of that, that it could just be a run of the mill brass lamp. But, knowing that forum members are well versed in a wide array of subjects, I'm hopeful you may offer some insight.

Any information or speculation that you can provide will be much appreciated. I look forward to being a contributing member of the forums. Thanks!

 

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[Tallone]

Welcome to Tnet, SDIceman. That piece is indeed curious. I don't think I would categorize this as trench art as most pieces of trench art I have seen have the rough look of being fashioned with limited tools. But I am certainly no expert on trench art. I do think this may be a piece of vintage industrial equipment that has been converted into a lamp. I have seen a lot of lamps made out of things like old fire extinguishers, parking meters, etc. I have no idea what this piece of equipment might be, though. Because of the valves, I'm thinking a piece of some sort of steam powered device. Definitely has a cool steampunk look to it.

 

[Baltimore]

Welcome! Can't say I know anything about the lamp, but its always good to have fresh members to contribute their knowledge. Can't wait to see more finds!

 

[war-digs-it]

Yes, very interesting...I was looking at everything from gas lamps, steam engine parts to steam whistles and can't nail it.
Let us know if you get a hit on the ID.

 

[frankendime]

Just a guess here, but could it be an old kerosene lamp converted to electric? Is that some kind of fill tube on the side?

Welcome, by the way...

HH!

 

[diggummup]

Welcome! That is the coolest lamp I have seen in a while. It appears to be very well made. So much so that it looks as if it was made at the factory that way. I don't think so though, I think it is a ooak piece. I cannot place that brass center section for the life of me. It looks familiar for some reaso. I can tell you that the shade appears to be an industrial holophane type globe. I guess there are no markings or lettering anywhere on it? Is it an electric lamp, It looks like I see a cord but it's hard to tell. Any way you can get a close up of the top from a couple angles? Very nice find for sure.

 

[clovis97]

The top of the lamp and the globe look like parts salvaged from an antique floor lamp.

Very cool piece!!!

 

[SDIceMan]

Thank you all for the warm welcome and the replies to my question about the lamp. I'll try to post a few more photos of the lamp from different angles later this afternoon. I've gone over it fairly closely and I can't find markings of any kind. I've borrowed some of your suggestions (kerosene lamp, industrial, steampunk etc.) to put more keywords into my eBay listing. I'll keep you posted as to how it goes. I feel like you've got me looking in the right direction now, though. I was too focused on 'nautical' at first to the exclusion of everything else, but some of your suggestions definitely seem more fitting. At any rate, this is a great forum and I'm looking forward to being a contributing member. Thanks again!

 

[pickaway]

Neat whatever it is id call it a older piece of steampunk,I see so many crazy lamps nowadays made from all sorts of older things, Nice find.