An Antique Lamp Come in for a Cleaning
A couple of weeks ago, a gentleman walked in to our shop with this antique lamp:
Apparently it’s an old-style dentist’s lamp, and has been in his family for quite some time. There are all sorts of articulations on it that allow tooth illumination from several angles. It swivels and tilts in its wall bracket, as you can see below, as well as has a telescoping pole.
After the telescoping pole, the four-lamp head hangs down to give you plenty of light while you polish.
Over the years it had become a bit tarnished, but otherwise it was in good working shape, especially for an antique. Our customer just wanted to give it a refresh, so we got right on it. There was no time to waste, since all the articulations that make it really cool also make it very complicated.
Initially we thought it was brass, but to our surprise when we started dismantling it we discovered it was steel with a very convincing coating. Sometimes you can even fool the experts. We stripped the coating and polished everything nicely, then applied our own color via lacquer. This gave it a darker look than the original, but one we like. More importantly our customer likes it!
Here’s to several more years of faithful service from this interesting antique lamp, even though it’s more likely to be lighting a book than a molar these days. And, of course, if you have an antique heirloom that needs some attention, or just have a question, send us an email.
