Q: Is it worthwhile to take my 16-inch Pairpoint lamp to an expert to have the shade repaired?
A: The reader has a circa 1920s authentic Pairpoint brass base with a glass shade. The e-query tells us that the shade is cracked but intact. She has looked into having the shade repaired and has a preliminary quote of $400-$500 for the work.
Smart collectors know that when it comes to period lamps, Pairpoint is a prestigious name.
The Pairpoint Manufacturing Co., of New Bedford, Massachusetts, began in 1880 when the company made silver plate items, including lamp bases. It soon merged with a glassmaking company and up to 1930, Pairpoint produced lamps with blown glass shades that are collected to this day.
Pairpoint is celebrated for three kinds of glass shades: Reverse painted landscape shades, blown out or “Puffy” reverse painted shades, and ribbed reverse painted shades, many with scenes. Reverse painted means the glass was hand painted on the inside surface so colors appear through the glass. The angular shade seen in an image sent looks to be reverse painted in an Art Deco geometric design.
We asked John Fontaine, of Fontaine’s Auction Gallery in Pittsfield, Massachusetts (www.fontainesauctions.com), to view images sent. For decades, the gallery has sold a variety of fine lamps, including Tiffany Studios to Pairpoint.
Fontaine confirmed that the reader’s lamp is indeed Pairpoint. The shade is the Bryn Mawr pattern. The base, cap and finial at the top are the real thing. So far, so good.
Looking over recent sales at auction, we saw that a 21-½-inch high Pairpoint “puffy” lamp with a 13-inch blown-out shade in a beautiful rose bouquet pattern sold for $12,000 at auction this October. Granted, that is for a top-of-the-line example in top condition.
But the reader has a boudoir lamp, smaller in scale. Recent sales of intact and good condition boudoir lamps range from $325-$3,200. Why the range? Because fine puffies are what buyers value, and prices for boudoir lamps reflect that. The closer you get to the ideal, the higher prices go.
Bottom line, Fontaine told us, is that “I would strongly suggest (the reader) not put any money into repair. A repaired shade is worth no more than a damaged shade.”
Buyers run for the hills when they spot a repaired flaw. No matter how well it is repaired, the shade will always be damaged goods. Only in rare instances, such as specific early and significant precious objects, is repair overlooked.
If the reader wants to sell the base alone, I suggest online auction. We found recent eBay sales for Pairpoint boudoir lamp bases ranging from $50.99 to $140 depending on design.
FYI: “Pairpoint Lamp Catalog,” a 2-volume set of hardbound catalog reprints from Schiffer Books ($95 each), shows most styles of Pairpoint lamps.
