A customer recently asked me a question I remember asking a mentor many years ago: "How can you tell if a shade for an antique fixture is really old or a reproduction?" My mentor's first response was, "You can just tell." Frustrated by his answer, I asked him to elaborate on the signs which indicate a shade is vintage and old. I thought I would share what was shared with me back then. The following is more a guideline than a rule for vintage and antique shades.
First, look at the top opening of the shade. Vintage shades were hand blown into a mold and resulted with the top edge of the shade nicely rolled and smooth. Reproduction shades have a flat ground top which is much faster and easier to finish. This is about 95 % accurate. Some vintage shades are very thin and this indicator is not there.
Second, look just below the top rolled edge of the opening. Antique shades will have a thin ring which is rough, where the hand blown glass was broken out of the mold. If these first two are on shade it is a good bet it is antique and vintage.
Third, there will be small seams in the glass where the mold is clamped together. Vintage shades will have 2 to 4 "mold marks" where reproduction shades will usually have only 2.
Fourth, vintage and antique shade often have slight imperfections such as air bubbles, insignificant discoloration, minor unevenness in the finish and thickness of the glass, and trivial deformities. For collectors these imperfections are looked for as they indicate the human touch imparted to the vintage shade.
In addition, vintage shades have a look and feel which reproduction shades just do not have. This is what my mentor was referring to when he said "You can just tell." And after handling thousands of shades over the years, both vintage and reproduction, I too can "just tell."
My customer was spared the frustration of "You can just tell" and was was given the rest of this short lesson on how to tell if an antique shade is really old.
Listen to Your Eyes. PB
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