Description
I’m very pleased to offer this exceedingly rare 1920s hanging light by the Reflectolyte Company of St. Louis.
FOR THE LIGHTING GEEK:
When I purchased the fixture I assumed it was by Brascolite. I sell a lot of Brascolites. While restoring the fixture it became evident though that no matter the overall similarity to a Brascolite, there were enough subtle differences to suggest that the fixture was NOT a Brascolite.
Then, under a thick layer of dirt, I discovered wording atop the socket housing which revealed that I had a Reflectolyte (I never heard of the company) by the F. Adam Electric Company (also never heard of). I got excited.
Some internet sleuthing revealed more, although not easily. The company proved elusive. I did find a lawsuit by Brascolite against Reflectolyte for copyright infringement.
At last, at last I discovered catalog images showing the original shade. The shade though which came with the fixture is by…drum roll, please…Brascolite!
The fixture has a very large 20-inch pan. The bottom is white enamel. The sides appear to retain the original gold finish, and this is deliciously mottled (see images). I can’t tell if the effect is original or age-related.
The inside top of the pan was black when I purchased it so you can imagine my great surprise while cleaning to discover brilliant white enamel!
The socket is contained within a cast-iron housing. This is overkill to an extreme…and I love it. Above the housing is the cast-iron name plate. FABULOUS!!!!!!!!
The original chains were, sadly, corroded (this is normal) so I replaced these with new chain links matching the damaged originals. (I will include the original chain links.)
Note the fabulous three-hook chain holder.
The ceiling canopy is also original.
I’ve been working with vintage lighting since the 1970s and it’s been a long time since I’ve been surprised by something.
I wish to stress, again, how rare the fixture is. Not only is this the first one I’ve ever offered in five decades, I couldn’t find a single one for sale online. Or even one sold online. Nothing at auction. Nothing. Zip.
While the shade is…presumably…not original to the fixture, if I had the shade pictured in the catalog (see images), this fixture would be priced $500 higher.
The hole at the bottom of the shade never had a finial. The hole serves two purposes: 1) Air is pulled up through the hole to help keep the large bulb from overheating. 2) Dead bugs fall through the hole rather than collect inside the shade.
The fixture is ideal for a kitchen. It takes a Mogul-sized 300W bulb. You can purchase a socket reducer and instead use, for example, a 200W-equivalent LED standard base bulb.
This fixture is ready to hang, and comes with all the mounting hardware needed!
DETAILS: The fixture accepts one Mogul base 300W bulb (not included). See, too, above.
COLOR: Gold. White.
SIZE: The fixture hangs down about 32-inches and is 20-inches wide. The shade is shy of 11-inches wide. I can remove chain; I can add chain. NOTE: The large pan is designed to be surface mounted, as an option. The overall height, thus, would be about 12-inches.
CONDITION:
There are several small chips to the white enamel.
The hole at the bottom of the shade has a very small chip to its edge. Inside the shade, the edge of the hole is very rough. This is typical for this shade and is, it seems, a curious manufacturing byproduct.
The porcelain socket is original with new wiring.
SHIPPING: Insured shipping in the Continental US will be…FREE!
