How to Value an Antique Lamps

Antique lamps span a broad spectrum of well-known Victorian style to prominent names like Aladdin and Tiffany. The most primitive lamp, the oil lamp, was a facile vessel with a porous wick. Between the 1830s and the early 1900s, oil lamps coexisted with early electric lamps. The biggest development in lamps toward the end of the 19th century was the increasing popularity of ornate glass lampshades, which is when lamps started to become decorative, and not just an autility item.

Antique lamps carry significant value if it is rare On the other hand, just because a lamp is rare or even old doesn’t mean it is valuable. If it is in substandard condition, faulty, it may not be worthy of its price tag. Hence it becomes imperative to study the lamp cautiously to learn as much about the product as possible in order to determine its value and here’s how you can do it:

• Overturn the lamp on its side to inspect the bottom. Search for a nameplate, sticker or a stamp bearing a maker’s mark
• Study other areas of the lamp to look for the maker’s mark
• Inspect the cord and plug it cautiously to determine if the lamp appears safe to plug into an outlet. If the cord doesn’t look old, it means original cord may have been replaced
• Examine the lamp closely for any cracks or dents
• Weigh up the information you’ve found about your lamp with sites online. Web sites may quote an inflated price, but they will give you a generic idea of the value of your lamp.