Baked Light

The newest addition to our website is a pair of 1920s solid bronze wall sconces. What is rather unusual about these is their original shades are made of Bakelite.

http://vintagelights.com/product/1/solid-bronze-pair-of-vintage-wall-sconces-with-original-bakelite-shades.html

Bakelite was a forerunner to plastic and was developed near the turn of the last century. Dr. Baekland established the General Bakelite Company in 1910, to supply the rapidly growing demand for a plastic type product.

We occasionally see bakelite used in various parts of vintage lighting fixtures and even less frequently we see bakelite shades. Bakelite has a beautiful glow and was manufactured in some great colors, like tortoise shell, wood grain, and bright solid colors which makes it a very collectible item in today's vintage marketplace. One drawback of the bakelite shades was their tendency to turn black where the heat of the light bulb was most intense. With every increase in light bulb wattage this problem increased. You can see the blackened centers of the shades in the above image. The dark discoloration is much more noticeable when the light bulb is off.

Vintage bakelite is very collectible and an easy, non-destructive test to determine if an object is true bakelite or just plastic made to look like bakelite is to wet a q-tip with 409 cleaner and gently rub in a discreet place on the piece. True bakelite will discolor the q-tip in a yellow to brown color. Plastic will not discolor the q-tip.

Listen to Your Eyes. PB

http://VintageLights.com