Well, you know the old idiom ....

[Thumper]

.... One man's trash is another man's treasure?

I went to an estate sale and as I was digging around, I glanced behind the garage. It was an older home and the space between the garage and the chain-link fence separating the property from the neighbor's was just a couple of feet. It was totally grown up with grass and weeds, but I caught a glimpse of an ornate piece of metal sticking up out of the trash, mud and leaves. I could hardly fit between the fence and garage, but managed to grab it and drag it out'ta there. It turned out to be an old lamp! It was half buried in mud/dirt and had vines totally entangled in and around it. I showed it to the guy running the sale and asked, "How much will you pay me to haul this trash to the curb?" He took one look at the POS and just laughed, then waved me off and said I could have it! I threw it in the back of my truck with some other crap I'd bought and dragged it home. Once here, I grabbed the garden hose and hosed the mud off of it while pulling out all the weeds and vines. Heck, after about 5-mins, it actually looked pretty decent. It was nothing special, no manufacturer's name or markings that I could find. I put a couple bulbs in it, plugged it in and ..... it didn't work. Oh well, maybe somebody could use it. I threw it up on The Bay and it just sold for $125.00! It doesn't make me rich, but from a trash pile to $125.00? I'll take that any ol' day.

25-1/2" tall ....

Lamp.jpg

[BarryBobPosthole]

So I wonder, if you futzed around with it, like replacing the original power cord, would it devalue it?

bkb

[Thumper]

Most of these things get re-wired anyway, for safety reasons. You can buy new cords that are replicas of the old cords, like those old cloth wrapped cords, for example. I put in the ad I didn't even know if this cord is original or not. I listed it as, "For parts or repair". To answer your question, I'm not sure, but it probably depends on the piece. I know some things like this bring a premium when they're listed as "restored". I'd have to think the first thing that gets replaced is wiring. This one had two lamp clusters with pull chains. Both switches pulled through their cycles, but only one "clicked". Somebody will restore it and find a vintage shade to make it cool.

I think one of the selling features was a pair of cherubs holding a jadeite ball.

lamp2.jpg

[Bwana]

Pretty sure I just saw one of those on the Antique Road Show that was valued at just under $5,000.

[Thumper]

Pretty sure I just saw one of those on the Antique Road Show that was valued at just under $5,000.

Yeah I know. Actually it was appraised at just under $6,000 but due to the upcoming holiday season, I was feeling charitable.

(Oh, in case you're interested, I also have a bridge in San Francisco for sale.)