Limbert Co. Arts & Crafts Lamp, ca. 1915
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GUEST:
My husband's aunt Shenevra and great-uncle Frank were married in 1915, and after they were married, they went shopping in Toledo, Ohio, and my husband's great-aunt saw this lamp and she fell in love with it. Her husband told her then maybe they should buy it, and she said, "No, it is too expensive," and it cost $32.50 at that time. And so they went back home. Her husband liked to spoil her, so he thought that he'd go back to Toledo and purchase the lamp. You can imagine how excited she was when he came in with the lamp.
APPRAISER:
I think he sounds like a very good, loving husband, spoiling his wife.
GUEST:
I think he was.
APPRAISER:
So who do you think made this lamp?
GUEST:
I am not sure. Really, we don't know any more about it than it was purchased in Toledo, Ohio.
APPRAISER:
And you did show me the invoice, and it didn't list a maker. And one of the reasons it didn't list a maker is probably because it's not signed. However, this is a great Arts and Crafts lamp, and it was definitely made circa 1915. I conferred with some of my colleagues, and we feel quite certain that this was made by Limbert. The Charles P. Limbert Company was based both in Grand Rapids, Michigan and Holland, Michigan.
GUEST:
Oh!
APPRAISER:
And most of these weren't signed anyway, so you have to know what you're looking for. This is a particularly nice example because you have all these inset pieces of sunset orange glass. And usually, these are replaced over the years-- they get damaged, they're replaced. Every single piece of glass in this is original. It has this beautiful metal overlay, all intact, no pieces missing, wonderful hammered copper finish on the base. Fortunately, nobody cleaned it. It also has the original sockets, it has the original pulls. And a lamp like this in this condition in today's market, the retail value would be $3,000 to $4,000.
GUEST:
Oh, my! I never dreamed that it was worth anything like that.
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