Hi Gareth

A Saturday morning call to the Post Office - and we had a parcel!!

Just a couple of words to describe this lamp:-
Fantastic!! - Fabulous!! - Perfect!!
It is exactly what we were looking for!!

We do, however, have one query - request

When you wrote to me during the auction, you mentioned:-
"I found a problem which I had neglected to notice - three clips are broken, leaving twelve to hold the shade"

From what Sharon and I can see, these clips have nothing to do with the actual shade, but are designed to hold a central flue or chimney which would protect the outside shade from the flame and heat
All these types of lamps seem to have this flue from the various pics we have seen on the internet

We searched the box, but couldn't find it - and then we looked at the photos you included with the auction - and it wasn't shown in these
Now our hope - do you still have it??
If so, we would be prepared to buy it and pay the postage

We have our fingers crossed waiting for your answer!!

As I mentioned above, we are very happy and I am about to log into Ebay and leave Positive Feedback

Nice to do business with you
Regards, Geoff

Hi Geoff

I should have known about the flue!
It won't affect the aesthetic appeal of the lamp, but you will of course need a flue if you would like to light it

This lamp didn't come with one, but I did buy a box full of them once, which I gave to my brother
I'll have to check if there are any left
The trick then will be to get the right size, so would you mind sending me a measurement?

Very glad you like the lamp, and sorry about the oversight with the flue
I tend to buy antiques for our home, some of which we use and some which are decorative
This was one of the things that decorated the mantle, and I never gave the workings of it much thought

Regards, Gareth Colliton

(click on the above logo to go to their Official Web Site)

Hi, and my name is Geoff, and this is a follow up note as discussed during our phone conversation last Tuesday concerning a replacement chimney for our lamp

All our contact details are at the end of this email

The complete burner assembly is now on it's way to you - by registered post as you suggested
I guess it will arrive on Monday/Tuesday of next week

Attached to this email are a number of photos which will give you an idea of what our lamp looks like
We bought it recently, and love the "look and presence" of it, and it will be displayed on a timber pedestal in our lounge room

LAMP DETAILS and MARKINGS
We were told that it is from the late Victorian period - circa 1900
The only markings we can see are the "British Made - F" marks on the wick winders as you can see in the photos

MEASUREMENTS
The lamp stands a total of 50cm tall
The cast iron stand is 11.5cm tall and is 14.5cm square
The oil font is approx 15.5cm high including the fittings and is 16cm across
The shade is 18cm high, 21cm wide across the frills and is 11.5cm across at it's thinnest part/neck

THE CHIMNEY
We have looked right through your web site - including all the chimneys!!
Short-and-squat --- long-and-thin --- frilled-and-plain, etc, etc!!
We have no idea what type we should buy, and whether it should be a thin or thick type, nor how far it should extend past the top of the shade
So we are going to rely completely on your advice and buy what you suggest
Because of the distance up here to Cairns, we will probably purchase two

THE WICKS and WINDERS
If you remember our conversation, I said that we were going to use the lamp for display only - you then described just how fantastic these look when used as they should be
Well, you convinced us!!! - and we will be having a "Romantic Lamp-Lit Dinner" as soon as you return it after the repairs!!
So could you check out the wicks and the winders to make sure they are both working as they should

LAMP OIL and THE FONT
Sharon will give you a ring next week when you have the lamp to find out what oil you would recommend us to use
She will also have to 'pick-your-brains' about lighting it, how much wick should be burning, how much oil should be in the font, and those types of things - of which we know nothing!!
You have explained it to me, but she will also want to confirm on how to clean the inside of the font before we add any fresh oil - it is a bit grubby
Sharon does not get home from work till about 6.00pm - is it okay if she rings the '02 65 65 0104' number at about that time, say Tuesday or Wednesday??

REPAIRS and CLEANING
When you receive the burner, you will notice that a few of the clips that hold the chimney in place are missing - and this is shown in one of the photos
There still appears to be enough to hold the chimney, and we are happy with that
We are 'very-amateur' antique collectors, and mainly buy things that would look nice around our home - we don't buy anything to resell or that type of thing
One of the points that have been made to us is not to overclean or repair as this not only can affect any value but also detracts from the antique-look of these sort of items
So I guess I am saying that so long as everything works, we are happy with how it looks

THE APPROX AGE
As I mentioned above, we were told that this lamp is from around the 1900's
From the information and the attached photos, are you able to confirm that this might be true??
I know that this type of thing is sometimes impossible to establish, but we would like some sort of idea that we 'made a good purchase'!!

Well, I think that is about it
Thank you for your time, and I really appreciate the advice you gave during the initial phone call

If you need any further details or photos, just send me an email
Also please contact me when you have it all worked out, and I will make payment for all of the above plus the return postage and insurance - either by direct deposit or credit card, etc

You deal with these lamps everyday - but to us it is a whole new experience
We are quite excited to have a fully working lamp like this!!

Regards, Geoff

Age of the Lamp
He is not certain that the lamp is from around the turn of the century, and feels that a more accurate estimate would be the 1930's or 40's
But he explained it is very hard to confirm or deny what we were told by the Ebay seller

The Shade
After looking at the photos and then talking to me as I described it over the phone, he is 'almost positive' that the shade is not the original
He says this because of the lip on the bottom of the shade, and this makes him think that this is from an electrice lamp and the lip is there to provide the anchor for the three screws that held it to the wall or ceiling light assembly
Juergen said that this was not an uncommon practise in past years with these types of lamps

The Chimney
As I mentioned in my note, a few of the holding clips had broken off over the years
These are not going to be replaced, but Juergen has tightened and adjusted those remaining so the chimney is firmly held in place
Now to the new chimneys
Due to the shape of this 'illegal' shade, he says we are restricted to the thinner round types and he is going to send two of these to us
Update
With the shape of the new shade we purchased, Juergen says he can now supply what he feels would be the proper original type
These are an oval shape, more suitable to these two wick lamps and giving the flame just that little bit more room so that it burns cleaner and more effectively

The Double Burner Assembly
According to Juergen, there were 'good ones' and 'bad ones'
He says that this particular "British Made - F" burner and wick winder assembly is one of the 'very good ones'!!

The Wicks
When you look at the photos of the burner assembly I sent with the above email, the wicks look like a bundle of old rags tied together
Sharon and I had no idea what they should look like so I asked if this was right
A definate 'no' was the answer, and Juergen said that this must have been a make-do arrangement by one of the lamps previous owners
He is putting in two new top class wicks, plus sending us two spares
These wicks are the best he has, and specially treated to promote even and clean burning

Flame Extinguisher
We didn't even realise that this lamp had one!!
Juergen said that it is there, but some parts and levers were missing and, in his opinion, he didn't think it was necessary to put it back into working order
I said that we would prefer everything to be as it should be and left it up to him to see what could be done
He rang one day, saying that he had searched around and found all the necessary parts except for one piece
For this, he made up a replacement and said we would not notice that it is not as per the original
We are happy - the lamp now has a working extinguisher!!

The Font
As already mentioned, the inside was a bit dirty and coated with old oils and kerosene
Juergen explained that it could be cleaned up by using just warm water and detergent, but if this did not work, paint thinners could be used to remove the oily residue
He explained that the top collar into which the burner is screwed is held in place by a plaster type material and it was very important not to fully immerse the font in water and leave it to soak, as this would cause this plaster to soften and the collar to become loose
So I made up the detergent mixture and gave it is careful wash
And it is perfect - now looks like a sparkling piece of crystal!!

Oil and Kerosene Fuels
He does not recomend the use of any 'fancy smelling' lamp oils, and feels that these just clog up the lamp wicks and winders
In his experience, the best fuel to use is a kerosene and the one he feels is the best is made by Caltex and said that this burns very clean
The only drawback to this brand is that it is a blue colour, and it may not look 'nice' when the font has been filled
He mentioned that this can be overcome be letting a container of the kerosene sit on the window sill in the sun for an hour or two
This fades the blue colour, and the font can then be filled

Hello Geoff

I had a close look at your burner and can give you a quote as follows:-

Chimneys x 2 - $36.00 (one of these is a spare)
Wicks x 4 - $14.00 (two will be fitted to the burner and the other two are spares)
Flame extinguisher - $35.00
General cleaning - $25.00
Return registered post - $15.00
Total - $125.00

Kind regards, Juergen

Hello Geoff

I have found a clear optic glass shade I think it is in the same optic pattern as your lamp font!!
A photo of the shade is attached

I have only one shade and my asking price is $175.00
I would double box this when packing and send it also by registered post - the total then would be $207.00

Please let me know if you are interested
Kind regards, Juergen