Hurricane Lamps are Collectible but Functional

A few weeks ago, a storm rolled through the Mid Atlantic states, and pretty much the whole midsection of the United States.  After a stretch of hot and humid days with temperatures reaching the 95 – 100 degree range, we were hit with what some folks are now calling a “Derecho” or in my estimation one of the freakiest weather events that I have ever lived through.  I watched out my back doors as the neighbor’s large trampoline flew across, took two sections of my fence and landed in our yard.  A few minutes later, the winds picked it up again, sailed it across the opening in the fence and put it right back where it had come from, minus a few pieces.

The thunderstorms, lightning and winds combined to take out not only a portion of my fence with the help of the trampoline, but it took down large sized tree limbs and of course power lines, cable lines and telephone lines.  Hundreds of thousands of people were left without utilities.  This then reminded me of the hurricane of 2004 that hit us while we lived in Mclean, Virginia.  This time we were one of the lucky ones because we didn’t lose power, the last time we lost power for three and a half days; no Internet, no TV, no air conditioning  . . . like our forefathers before us, we played cards and read by candlelight. Some people might think that fun, but being an Internet junkie, for me it was a torturous.  But there was a bright side to all of this, as people started thinking of alternatives to candles and ways to “light up their life.”

The weekend after the hurricane, I was set up at the Clarendon AntiqueMarket in Arlington, Virginia and wouldn’t you know that I sold every single oil lamp that I had in inventory.  It didn’t matter if they were pretty, or ugly, vintage glass or retro ceramic, every single one of our hurricane lamps flew off our tables and shelving.  It was amazing, because all the while, I had had those in my inventory and had never thought to bring them out during the power outage for my own family to use.  It wasn’t until they were flying off the shelves that I realized I didn’t really have to use candles.  Not that it would have made my situation any better, life without power and for me the Internet would have been unbearable regardless.

Which then leads me back to a previous article that I had written; more folks are buying functional antiques and collectibles.  Vintage oil lamps or hurricane lamps are not only collectible, but functional during a storm.  And the nice thing about vintage oil lamps is that they are available in so many colors, styles and shapes; they fit in with any décor in any home.  Sure, you can go to Walmart or Target and get a brand new oil lamp, but they just don’t have the character and the beauty of the old lamps.  Additionally, without power you don’t have Internet, so sit back gaze at the flame in old oil lamp and you can make up stories in your head about where it has been in the past, and the stories it could tell.

Collecting Vintage Radios

One of the first things that I ever sold on eBay was a vintage radio that had been sitting around the house for a long time.  I had picked it up at an auction in Buffalo and although I was not a newbie to buying and selling antique and vintage items, it was the first time that I had sold anything to anyone outside of the old neighborhood.  For a few years after that, I went into a frenzy; scouring flea markets, estate sales, yard and garage sales in search of more vintage radios and then rotary phones that I could sell on eBay.

I sold working and non-working antique and vintage radios that were made by all of the top companies including Philco, Westinghouse, Sylvania, Zenith and Emerson.  They were made from molded plastic, Bakelite and in some cases wood.  There were tube radios and transistorized models, cathedral shaped, futuristic and many clean-line modern.  I sold all types of radios to all types of people around the country, but they all had one thing in common, the love for nostalgia and the beauty of the vintage radio.

Alas, as eBay and other collectibles websites grew, the market for vintage radios, like all other vintage and antique items got flooded.  Most collectors were able to get pickier; they wanted only working radios, in good condition for the lowest possible price.  Very few wanted the non-working radios with blemishes, which could be fixed but would take time.  Additionally, the supply dried up as more and more people grew delusional with their prices; and priced themselves right out of the market.

One time I sold a Zenith 514, also known as an owl eye radio alarm clock from the mid-1950s, for $180.  Recent sales of the same radio on eBay range from $15 for a regular Bakelite model to $55 for a “rare” pink colored radio.  A green colored working radio went unsold with a price tag of $55.