Identification Marks on Antique Lighting Fixtures

Customers are always asking about marks on their vintage lighting fixtures and if we can identify the fixture maker by those marks. We wish it were that easy. Although some makers of antique light fixtures did sign their pieces (actually a signature is a marking incorporated into the casting of a part, not an actual signature) with their company name, like Moe Bridges Milwaukee, Beardslee, or Lincoln, or initials, M.E.P. for Markel Elecrical Products, many did not for one reason or another. A few have patent numbers which can be traced and some just have Pat. Pending. However, most pieces of antique lighting we see today do have some marking on them, mostly just a few numbers or letters. What were these marks for???
It turns out these marks are "casting marks." An antique lighting fixture may have 4 to 8 different pieces which must be identified and put together in a particular order to create the fixture. Each fixture part had its own casting mark so some antique fixtures may have 4 or 5 different marks on them. The casting ID marks are yesterday's parts number. They were usually just for the manufacturer's internal use and were not published or recorded.
Unless there are other identifying marks on the antique lighting fixture it is very difficult to identify the fixture's maker just by the casting marks. We will be describing some of the other ways to identify a maker in blogs to come.

Listen To Your Eyes. PB