Bradley & Hubbard Lamp, ca. 1908

Appraised on: June 26, 2004

Appraised in: St. Paul, Minnesota

Appraised by: David McCarron

Category: Glass

Episode Info: St. Paul, Hour 1 (#901)

Originally Aired: January 3, 2005

IMAGE: 1 of 1  

Appraisal Video: (1:53)

GUEST: Um, I was at your typical garage sale, um, looking around and I spotted this in the corner, on the floor, and picked it up and it felt awful heavy, so I thought this must be a nice lamp. I took it up to the lady and I asked her, you know, if it was an older lamp, and she said yes, it had been in her husband's family-- and they're from New York-- for about 90 years. So I thought I would purchase it.

APPRAISER: And what did you pay for it?

GUEST: 40 dollars.

APPRAISER: 40 dollars. Uh, what do you know about it since you've acquired it?

GUEST: Nothing, really. I took it home, put it on our end table and it's been there ever since.

APPRAISER: You know who made it?

GUEST: It's a Bradley-Hubbard lamp.

APPRAISER: Okay, now, let's see. We could show a little bit about this lamp by taking off the shade. And it is marked here on the shade Bradley & Hubbard Manufacturing Company. And it is a textured panel with reverse or interior painting and it's a very, very nice looking lamp. Now, Bradley & Hubbard started in the mid 1850s in Meriden, Connecticut. Uh, they made a very wide range of metalwares, and in 1874 or 1875, they turned to the Bradley & Hubbard Manufacturing Company, so we know it's after that. And then also there's a patent date here of '08, so we know it's early 20th century. Now, it's a very, very nice lamp. Bradley & Hubbard items bring a premium. They made all kinds of desk sets, uh, decorative items across the board. Many good patinated metal items that, again, no matter what they are, bring a premium because they're Bradley & Hubbard. The lamps are very good. Um, I think a good retail price in the current market would be around $4,000.

GUEST: Really?

APPRAISER: Yes, really.

GUEST: Oh, my gosh.