Late 1800s Blue Cut to Clear Glass Brass Marble Oil Whale Style Table Lamp Works!

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A little history lesson first ...

At some point in time during the 1700s, it was discovered that sperm whale … Read more A little history lesson first ...

At some point in time during the 1700s, it was discovered that sperm whale oil burned more brightly and clearly than the oil from other whales, and sperm whale oil did not have the offensive odor that other whale oils had; so it was preferred. But by the mid-1800s the whaling industry was beginning to see a decline; and by 1859 petroleum was discovered. That discovery, along with the onset of the Civil War, brought the industry to an end by the late 1800s/1900s. The old whale oil lamps were easily converted from burning whale oil to kerosene and then later to electricity.

Offered here is a beautiful late 1800s glass whale oil style table lamp. (It comes with a harp - I just had to remove the harp so I could get this into my light box for photographing. Harp is shown next to the lamp in first photo). No shade or bulb included. The glass itself is a sky blue color that has a cut to clear design. The design is actually cut into the glass on a wheel - not pressed glass. The design depicts a grapevine with leaves all the way around. There are oval spots cut all the way around above the grapevine, and elongated fat vertical stripes cut all the way around below the grapevine. No chips, cracks, or unusual wear in the glass.

The brass parts of this lamp have been cleaned, but not polished. The base is made of marble. The electrical parts are in good shape and work.

Marble base measures 5" X 5". No chips or cracks in the marble base, but it could benefit from a polishing. With the harp in place, measures about 21 5/8" tall. No finial for the top of the harp is included.

To reiterate: No shade, bulb, or finial are included. An absolutely lovely piece of history. See less