Before. After.
My online vintage lighting store.
Golly. I have not posted a Before/After in months! Well, I came across a 1940s petite fixture by the Gross Chandelier Company of St. Louis. It was pretty grim…
…and the online images normally would not have excited me. But…
…I have an affection for Gross Chandeliers, as the company is still in St. Louis. I mean, wow. Almost all the vintage lighting I sell is from companies which long ago vanished.
The fixture was missing its glass shades, which normally would be a NO GO for me, but I happened to have three 1940s glass shades in storage which seemed perfect. Perfect! So…I made the purchase.
Wanna see the results?
Prepare to gasp. And scroll way down….
Oh! My! I thought the fixture had a brass-like finish but this proved to be ancient nicotine! Yikes!
On the shades, note how the frosted pattern is scalloped at the top, which matches the scallop edges of the glass components and, too, how the horizontal frosted lines match the same in the metal components. The floral/leaf designs are wheel-cut. Nice.
It is always a thrill, even after so many years, of taking something which looks like nothing and, like magic, restoring gorgeousness.
My online vintage lighting store.
6 Comments
Leave a Comment
Your email address will NEVER be made public or shared, and you may use a screen name if you wish.
Wow, that’s class from trash!
As usual Ross, beautiful work!
I need someone to perform a similar restoration on me. The original manufacturer’s are still around 😂
That is simply magic! Wow, anyone with a large house should be shopping your store! I look at homes on line for sale and none, I mean none, have beautiful lighting. Just the usual from big box stores.
This is a gem! That the manufacturer is still in business is remarkable! I didn’t understand the nicotine finish–just in base? The fixture looked silver in the pictures. Beautiful work–must be thrilling to have an opportunity to work on lighting. The work you do is amazing –Cross House & the lovely lighting restoration. So glad to see a lighting post.
Wow, I certainly thought that was an aged brass finish. Perhaps nicotine is underrated as a metal finish?