L.185

A British lamp made from a French Moderator oil lamp by Joseph Schlossmacher, Paris, converted to kerosene/paraffin use sometime in the second half of the 19th century in Britain. Hence a rare combination.

In the converting process, the Moderator interior system was removed, the Moderator oil container filled with earth and stones (!) and a tube with an internal thread soldered to the upper neck. A high-quality crystal font with olive and sliced cuts has been fitted with a brass undermount that fits exactly into the soldered thread of the Moderator neck. As soon as the font is screwed in tightly, it holds the entire underside of the lamp, including the porcelain vase, in place. In itself a simple but very effective construction. In order to be able to attach the font well, the upper parts of the garland made of cast brass at the upper end of the vase have been sanded down a little.

The filled-in soil had rusted the metal container of the Moderator system quite badly. I had to do a lot of sanding and then treat everything with rust converter. Later, when assembling, I inserted quite a lot of lead wire loosely to get a corresponding weight in the foot part.

The painting of the vase is also puzzling: the style and painting would normally be attributed to Valentin St. Gaudens. The blue paint on the back, however, is not dark cobalt blue, but only blue, not even firmly fired. This somewhat lighter blue colour has become dull with time. I could not clean it to a high gloss as usual. I repainted all the rubbed-off gold parts. Now the vase looks beautiful again.

The crystal font is pictured in Messenger catalogue. But here it comes with a Hinks collar! According to this I put a Hinks burner on it. A Duplex oval-bulged chimney and a beautiful tulip shade from France completed the lamp very nicely.

Lamp Data

Added by me:
Burner incl. globe holder, glass chimney and tulip shade.

Cleaning and repairs:
Sheet iron parts desoldered at the bottom; earth removed; sheet iron sanded down and treated with rust converter, weighted down with loosely inserted lead wire on the inside. All rubbed gold applications on the vase renewed.

Lamp body:
Vase of painted porcelain, golden painting partially rubbed off. In the front bouquets of flowers in an elaborate gold frame; rest of the vase painted with an arabesque pattern in blue and pink. The blue colour is not the typical dark cobalt blue colour normally found on these products.  Inside the Moderator container made of sheet iron, rusted. Lower end plate marked: JS (= Joseph Schlossmacher). Vase with cast brass contours at the top and bottom. Base Ø 139, vase Ø 138 mm.
Font of colourless crystal glass, elaborately cut with 3 rows in olive cut as well as top and bottom with sliced cut, Ø 153 mm. Bayonet collar marked: Hinks & Son's Patent. Removable font.

Burner:
Duplex burner of Hinks & Son, Birmingham, bayonet fitting, with gallery lifter and extinguisher. Firmly combined with the globe holder.
Wick knob marked: Hinks' Duplex No.2. Beige ceramic inlay.
Cap bridge marked: Hinks & Son Patent.
Two flat wicks, each 27 mm. Additional transport wick.

Glass chimney:
Duplex chimney with oval bulge. Height 256 mm, Ø fitter 63 mm.
Marked: Griffin-Brand - Fireproof - Foreign + griffin.

Shade and shade holder:
French tulip shade, colourless glass, frosted, partly transparent, partly frosted Art Nouveau motifs, upper rim fluted and frilled.
Height 162 mm, Ø fitter 101 and top rim 200 mm.
100 mm globe holder for 20’’’ burners, marked: Rd. 65891; integral part of the burner.

Lamp dimensions:
Height up to collar 36.1 cm, total height with chimney 66.0 cm.
Total weight 3560 g.