Vintage brass lamp – leave as is or shine it up?

[ChristineK]

Today I found an old brass lamp dumpster diving. I’m not sure if I should leave the patina on it or try to shine it back up. It’s called a TW Cherub Brass Spinner Ships Log Lamp and basically it looks like some sort of propeller. It’s in great shape, works fine but it definitely looks old. I think it would clean up nicely, but is that desirable or do buyers prefer it with the patina?

[Jay]

Can we see some photos (just interested in the great find).
We usually leave the patina on if its a vintage item.
Usually depends on the style we’re trying to sell.

[ChristineK]

Sure! Here are some photos. I put it on Ebay with the patina on, but I can definitely clean it and rephotograph if that would make more sense:

https://imgur.com/S8kEjXn
https://imgur.com/a/MOmP20I
https://imgur.com/a/3f99yo8
https://imgur.com/a/abbT0xf

• This reply was modified 6 years, 10 months ago by ChristineK.
• This reply was modified 6 years, 10 months ago by ChristineK.

[Antique Frog]

I’d definitely not clean the brass and bronze- those cleat hooks look like they’d take hours to clean the patina off. Maybe a bit of wax on the wood, and clean the glass.

[Temudgin]

It’s a lamp constructed of possibly antique boat parts and pieces. The part marked T.W. Cherub is a taffrail log, it came attached to a line and dragged through the water behind the boat to determine speed/distance. The light at the bottom is a combination sidelight, showing green to the right and red to the left so that observers know what side of the boat is facing them at night. Usually separate, they might be together in one unit like this on a smaller vessel.

I’ve seen taffrail logs made into lamps before but some of this brass nautical stuff is made in India to look old. The construction of the sidelight especially looks very India to me but the back looks like it has real age. Hard to tell without seeing it in person.

But whether fake or not there is a strong interest in nautical decor so it’ll sell well for a decent price either way. And I agreee with Jay and Antique Frog on leaving it as is.

Here’s a full kit taffrail log:

https://imgur.com/fFUCHzS

• This reply was modified 6 years, 10 months ago by Temudgin.

[ChristineK]

Thank you for the info! I’m pretty sure it’s legit old because it was just incredibly dusty (as if it had been in the attic for years) and the cord/plug looks older. It works fine but I didn’t know if I should advise rewiring in the listing or not.

• This reply was modified 6 years, 10 months ago by ChristineK.

[antarestar]

Good find in the dumpster!

Antique Frog – what would you use to wax the wood?

[Antique Frog]

I’ve got a few bottles of Pledge Furniture Scratch and Colour Restorer that were sold cheap by a supermarket, loads of raw and boiled linseed oil. some French liquid polish for floors that’s got beeswax in it, Danish oil, teak oil, and some dried-up tins of wax polish. You know, the usual scavenger accumulation 🙂

From what I’ve read on the net, some people say that anything with silicone in it should be avoided, and linseed oil can be problematic sometimes. I think this is due to the difficulty of removing these finishes if they develop faults.

[antarestar]

Ok, thanks! I don’t have a stash of wood cleaners/oil yet but I’ll keep an eye out. Thinking about it, I do have some wood floor cleaner – I bet I could use that in a pinch.

[Author]

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