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Author Topic: An ugly lamp with a questionable past :)  (Read 4690 times)

JoshandLila

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An ugly lamp with a questionable past :)
« on: October 23, 2011, 01:38:13 pm »
Just had to share this with everybody. This is another of the things I got when Grandma passed away. did some research today and found out the base is an 1800's wagon wheel hub which immediately grabbed my interest. The second half of the story is inside the hub, if you click the light just once, is a red light that would turn on, click it twice and the main lamp light would turn on and the red light would go off. Didnt think to much about it until I remembered that my great grandmother had owned and operated a brothel in Iowa back in the late 20's to early 30's and I wonder if the red light was to signal "open for business" ?? just a theory, dont know how to date the lamp part. what do you guys think??
« Last Edit: October 24, 2011, 06:52:08 pm by JoshandLila »
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snowflake

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Re: An ugly lamp with a questionable past :)
« Reply #1 on: October 23, 2011, 01:40:19 pm »
The lamp isn't ugly, it's cool. The shade...ugh! Have to put up halloween decorations in a bit. I'll look around later if you haven't found anything by then.
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JoshandLila

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Re: An ugly lamp with a questionable past :)
« Reply #2 on: October 23, 2011, 01:52:07 pm »
ok your right, lamp is cool, shade is hard to be in the same room with ( looks like burlap lol) heres a link I found for the hub  http://www.folkartisans.com/pages/primitives2.html   and heres a pic of the red light portion, this thing is really delicate
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mart

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Re: An ugly lamp with a questionable past :)
« Reply #3 on: October 23, 2011, 02:08:41 pm »
I have had lamps like that but no red light !!  Mine were much later like 50`s and just a clear bulb lit the base and some used this as a night light !! I would bet that is correct on the use of the red light !! It may have sat in the window !!  That shade is much later I think and is probably late 50`s or 60`s !! Had a pair of western lamps once with those shades !! I would find a western style shade to put on it !!
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greenacres

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Re: An ugly lamp with a questionable past :)
« Reply #4 on: October 23, 2011, 02:23:38 pm »
JoshandLilia I tend to agree with you about the lamp. Not my favorite decor. It reminds me of a nautical theme in a bar.
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JoshandLila

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Re: An ugly lamp with a questionable past :)
« Reply #5 on: October 23, 2011, 02:44:43 pm »
lol ya, were gonna try to find a better shade and then put it into use, itl hide in the basement until we find one though. The wood is incredibly fragile, should I maybe lacquer it up or how can I preserve it without ruining the value?
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mart

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Re: An ugly lamp with a questionable past :)
« Reply #6 on: October 23, 2011, 07:05:42 pm »
If you do treat the wood use a matte finish !!  It would not look good with a shine like high gloss !! You want to preserve it but keep it looking as original as possible !!
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KC

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Re: An ugly lamp with a questionable past :)
« Reply #7 on: October 23, 2011, 08:20:47 pm »
My first inclination is this was a nautical lamp!
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talesofthesevenseas

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Re: An ugly lamp with a questionable past :)
« Reply #8 on: October 24, 2011, 01:31:27 am »
You could get a whole different look with a stained glass shade! That's awesome that your great-grandma ran a brothel! 20's - 30's was kinda late to have done that, most were illegal by about 1910, but it would depend on the laws of the state. Was her's a legal one or was she operating "underground"? That is great that your family was willing to discuss this and that it wasn't "swept under the rug" and forgotten.
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JoshandLila

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Re: An ugly lamp with a questionable past :)
« Reply #9 on: October 24, 2011, 05:27:43 am »
LOL, It was an illegal brothel and great grandma even did some time for it. we never really talked about it because Grandma was so embarrassed, but its part of our history, I thought it was pretty cool too!!
« Last Edit: October 24, 2011, 05:11:10 pm by JoshandLila »
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greenacres

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Re: An ugly lamp with a questionable past :)
« Reply #10 on: October 24, 2011, 08:28:17 am »
After watching "Boardwalk Empire" and seeing the Brothels of the 20's I fine it very interesting that your grandmother was aBrothel owner during that time period.
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snowflake

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Re: An ugly lamp with a questionable past :)
« Reply #11 on: October 24, 2011, 10:41:44 am »
"It was an illegal brothel and great grandma even did some time for it." OMGosh! I got a chuckle over that one. I've never heard anyone saying Great Grandma did time for it before! Sorry to poke fun, I just love hearing about the past.

And the stained glass that Tales mentioned, love it! That would look great!
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snowflake

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Re: An ugly lamp with a questionable past :)
« Reply #12 on: October 24, 2011, 11:13:14 am »
OT But that link you left, did you see that old apple corer? Wow!
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JoshandLila

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Re: An ugly lamp with a questionable past :)
« Reply #13 on: October 24, 2011, 11:19:05 am »
Thats the fun of they internet, I can tell the good stories without fear of anyone being terribly embarrassed by it, plus since its been almost 80 years I figure its ok to laugh about it now. Great Grandma did what she had to do to get by, and Im just glad she ran it and didnt "work" there lol, or I probably would have skipped this story  ;) and yes I did see they apple corer!! that thing looks mid-evil!!
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talesofthesevenseas

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Re: An ugly lamp with a questionable past :)
« Reply #14 on: October 24, 2011, 04:49:34 pm »
The great thing about those old apple peelers is they still work fantastic. I've got one in my kitchen and use it a lot, anytime I'm making an apple pie. My parrots have fun with those spiral peels too! Somewhere on the forum I've got a video of my peeler in action. It peels a whole apple in a matter of seconds. They are ingenious little devices. Lemme see if I can find it...
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