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Leading the sale was this large Arts and Crafts library lamp with adjustable double arms. Its beauty was simple and direct in keeping with design movement: an octagonal, polished stone base, darkened brass body and green shadow shades. It sold for $1,625 against a $300/400 presale estimate, won by an online bidder on LiveAuctioneers.
Review by W.A. Demers
PHOENIXVILLE, PENN. — A single-owner sale with no reserves is one not to be missed. Co-owner Ted Wiederseim conducted such an auction on September 6, selling more than 300 lots of mostly early lighting, including great examples of Art Deco, Art Nouveau, Arts and Crafts, chandeliers, wall sconces, table lamps, student/bankers lamps, pendant lights and more. Many were produced by well-known makers such as Pairpoint, McKee, Tilley type, Edward Miller & Co., Bradley & Hubbard, Handel, Lightolier and others. The top lot was a large Arts and Crafts library lamp with adjustable double arms. For “workhorse” lighting, it compensated with an octagonal polished stone base, darkened brass body and green shadow shades. That simple beauty was reinforced by its final price of $1,625, against a $300/400 presale estimate. It went to an online bidder on LiveAuctioneers, according to co-owner Ted Wiederseim. Each of the shades was signed “Imperial Austria,” and the lamp’s measurements were 28½ by 31½ inches.
The overall sale realized $74,160 with 490 registered bidders, including 30 who were in house. The most online “visits” were made to an Art Nouveau table lamp, according to Wiederseim, and Art Nouveau seemed to be the flavor of the day.
The second-highest selling lot was an Art Nouveau Moe Bridges Co., table lamp that juiced its $600/800 estimate to a sold price of $1,375. Faux bronze, it featured two sockets and a diaphanous tropical scene on its reverse-painted shade. Signed “Moe Bridges & Co,” the circa 1920 lamp measured 24 by 17 inches. According the website Architectural Antiques, brothers Henrik and Ole Moe founded the Moe Bridges Company in 1919 in Milwaukee, Wisc. The company’s heyday in the market lasted until 1934 when it was acquired by Electric Sprayit Company. Because of its relatively short life, Moe Bridges Company light fixtures are relatively rare.
Founded in 1919 in Milwaukee, Wisc., Moe Bridges Company’s independent presence in the market lasted only until 1934, so its light fixtures are relatively rare. This Art Nouveau Moe Bridges Co., table lamp, circa 1920, surpassed its $600/800 estimate and sold for $1,375. It was signed “Moe Bridges & Co” and measured 24 by 17 inches.
Two items crossed the block at $1,187. The first was an Art Nouveau Pairpoint chrome colored table lamp, circa 1920. Its reverse painted-glass shade was festooned with a floral design, and its base was signed on the bottom. It measured 22 inches high with a 16-inch diameter. The second item was a table lamp by Bradley & Hubbard Manufacturing Co. Bronze finished, it was a two-light table example and its reverse-painted glass shade was lively, with a forest scene on one side and a lakeview on the other. Each of these lamps surpassed their $300/400 estimate.
Art Nouveau design continued with a Bradley & Hubbard Manufacturing Co., bronze finished, two-light table lamp, made circa 1900. Its shade was encircled with a Greek key pattern below an octagonal eight-panel slag glass pattern, bordered by red slag glass. The lamp was marked “297” on its bottom, and measured 26 inches high with an 18-inch shade. It went out at $1,000, more than triple its high estimate.
Fetching the same amount was an Art Nouveau chandelier, besting its expected $150/200. With what were called “salmon fish-scale” shades, the faux bronze five-light chandelier had a motif of encircling maidens holding the shades and light fixtures aloft. Signed “Nuart,” the chandelier measured 39½ inches high by 29 inches wide.
A bevy of maidens held shades and light fixtures aloft in this Art Nouveau faux bronze five-light chandelier, which beat its expected $150/200 estimate with a final price of $1,000. The shades were “salmon fish-scale” and the chandelier was signed Nuart.
A circa 1920s Art Nouveau bronze double arm table lamp featured green leaded glass shades that were attributed to Handel and complemented by a leafy base. The lamp measured 20½ inches high while the shades were 9 inches in diameter at the base and 3 inches at the top. Doubling its high estimate, it finished at $938.
One of the oddest forms in the sale was a patinated spelter metal figural table lamp, in the form of a female flapper who was posed upside-down and held a variegated lead and glass ball shade. Measuring 25 inches high by 7 inch diameter, this example also found a buyer at $938, tripling its high estimate.
Also leaping to $938, was a large signed, René Lalique (French, 1860-1945) frosted art glass jaguar, measuring 5½ inches high by 13½ inches long. According to the website 1stDibs, jewelry designer, glassmaker and decorative artist René Lalique was a glassmaker in the 1920s and 1930s, and designed vases, clocks, chandeliers and even car hood ornaments that were the essence of Art Deco chic.
A non-lighting highlight among top performers in the sale was this oak carved sideboard with carved dolphins, oak leaves and knights in armor, circa 1880. Inscribed on the back “Designed and made by Louis F. Wehmeyer and his wife, Clara 1905,” it garnered $938.
Another exception to the sale’s lighting theme, was a circa 1880 oak sideboard — lively with carved dolphins, oak leaves and knights in armor — which also sold for $938. It was inscribed on the back “Designed and made by Louis F. Wehmeyer and his wife, Clara 1905.”
Another bronze five-light chandelier, circa 1920s, was offered with a $400/600 estimate but left the gallery at $875. It was fitted with Steuben glass shades and measured approximately 41 inches high by 26 inches wide.
Prices given include the buyer’s premium as stated by the auction house. For information, www.wiederseim.com or 610-827-1910.
