A Bolt Out of the Blue

 

QUESTION: I was browsing through an antiques mall when I spotted what looked like round glass globe lampshades. The dealer’s booth that contained them displayed at least a dozen. Some were opaque and others were clear glass and some had patterns. Unlike other 19th-century lamp globes that have a wider opening at the bottom and a narrower one at the top, the openings on these globes were the same narrow size on top and bottom. What sort of gas lamp were these used for?

ANSWER: Believe it or not, these globes aren’t for use on gas lamps but are part of a lightning rod installation. And unless you live in a rural area, you probably have never  noticed them on top of buildings.

Some lightning rod balls date to as early as 1840. Originally sold as ornaments for lightning rods,  today they can be found in a wide range of shapes and colors. Toward the end of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th, the use of lightning rod balls became common. 

In the 19th century, manufacturers embellished their lightning rod assemblies with ornamental glass balls. The main purpose of these balls, however, was to provide evidence of a lightning strike by shattering or falling off. If a property owner discovered a ball missing or broken after a storm, he or she would then check the building, rod, and grounding wire for damage.

A lightning rod is a lightning attractor or conductor. If it’s placed high on a building, it will draw the lightning towards it instead of other structures. The lightning rod comes in contact with an aluminum or copper plate on the roof. A grounding cable then runs inconspicuously across the roof, down the side of the structure, and into the ground.

There are around 34 shapes or styles of lightning rod balls. Traveling salesmen going from farm to farm in horse drawn wagons sold them from 1870 until the Great Depression closed businesses.

The most common lightning rod ball was 4½ inches in diameter and was smooth and round. The most common colors were opaque white, and opaque light blue. The next two most common colors were transparent cobalt blue and transparent red, sometimes known as "ruby" red. The holes in the top and bottom of the ball were the same size, and the hole and the area around it were called "collars."

Most balls had copper, aluminum, or sometimes    

brass "caps" on both ends. The purpose of the caps was to protect the ball and to cover up the rough glass edges created during its manufacturing process. Small metal rings, each with a set screw,  mounted on the lightning rod above and below the glass lightning rod ball to hold it in place..

In the 19th century, a farmer's barn was usually larger than his house. The lightning rod assembly was essential to protect these wooden structures from electrical storms. The glass lightning rod ball, placed at the center of the rod, was simply a decorative addition.

Sold by nearly every lightning protection company, the plain round ball was the moist common and came in three sizes—3½ , 4 and 4½  inches in diameter. Produced in milk glass, transparent glass and sometimes in porcelain, the standard ball was white or blue milk glass, and examples of these can still be found for $25-60. Both milk and transparent glass balls also came with a flashed coating—a process in which another color coated the original, such as blue over white, resulting in an opaque effect.

Transparent glass offered the widest range of color options, which ranged from clear to various shades of amber, cobalt blue, green, teal and red. Some clear balls now have an amethyst tint, the result of the sun's exposure to the manganese used in the glassmaking process. The deeper the shade of purple, the more desirable the ball is today.

Some manufacturers embossed their round balls with their name or further enhanced them adding quilted, pleated, or swirled patterns. While these can usually be attributed to specific manufacturers, they’re most often referred to by their shape, such as Chestnut„ Doorknob, Ear of Corn, Quilt Flat, Ribbed Grape, Onion, or Staircase. 

To read more articles on antiques, please visit the Antiques Articles section of my Web site.  And to stay up to the minute on antiques and collectibles, please join the over 30,000 readers by following my free online magazine, #TheAntiquesAlmanac. Learn more about the Retro style in the Fall 2020 Edition, online now. And to read daily posts about unique objects from the past and their histories, like the #Antiques and More Collection on Facebook.

The Most Romantic Accessory Under the Sun

QUESTION: I love fashion accessories. Recently, I purchased a beautiful antique parasol from a vintage clothing booth at a local antique show. It’s covered in lace and has an ivory handle. Other than they’re a cousin of the umbrella, what can you tell me about the history of these romantic fashion accessories?
           
ANSWER: Parasols go back almost 5,000 years to ancient Egypt. Then as in their heyday during the late 18th and 19th centuries, they shielded women from the sun. In fact, the word literally means "for sun" in Spanish.

The umbrella as we know it first gained favor in England as a way for women to shield themselves from English rain. English umbrella makers first constructed them of oiled silk which made them extremely heavy and difficult to open when wet. But it wasn’t until the late 18th century that French umbrella makers transformed this mundane accessory into the parasol, one of romantic beauty. It’s name literally means “for the sun.”

Traditionally ladies had accessorized their outfits with delicate cane walking sticks, but during the 18th century, they replaced them with the more fashionable and useful parasol.

As the popularity of the parasol grew so too did its ornamentation. Until 1800, the fabric used on parasols was mostly green to cast a complementary shadow over the bearer's face so that a woman’s overly flushed complexion might appear fashionably pale. After this period of restraint, parasols became sumptuous with canopies adorned with laces, ruffles and fringes. Parasol makers replaced utilitarian wooden handles with costly ones made from porcelain, ivory, or ebony, enriched with elaborate carvings and inlays of mother of pearl, gems, and precious metals.

By the Victorian era the parasol was an essential accessory for ladies. Many had parasols made to match the fabric of their dresses, while the truly fashionable even had fans made to match their parasols. The length of the handle and shaft, the number of spokes and the diameter of the canopy, at one stage no larger than a handkerchief, were constantly shifting with changes in fashion. But in 1852, Samuel Fox, the founder of the English Steels Company, had a surplus of steel stays used in making corsets. Fox had the idea of using his steel stays in place of wooden or bone ribs, thus reducing the weight of parasols and improving their opening and durability.

To Victorian women, an unblemished complexion was essential to their concept of beauty. Like fans, parasols became part of the Victorian feminine mystique and even developed their own secret language useful for flirting.

Parasols were as a much a part of a well-dressed lady's outfit as were her gloves, hat, shoes and stockings. A fashionable lady carried a different parasol for each outfit. They became popular gifts for men to give their lady.

By the dawning of the 20th century, wide-brimmed hats became fashionable and women no longer needed parasols to protect complexions. Parasols eventually disappeared during the 1920's, when a tanned complexion replaced pale skin as a status symbol.

Curator or Caretaker–Which are You?

QUESTION: I own a necklace of pure scrimshaw about 40 years old that was passed to my mother, and she gave it to me when she died. Can you tell me its value? 

ANSWER: Here’s a good example of an object that has been passed down from mother to daughter over several generations. But the person makes no mention of obtaining any more pieces of scrimshaw. Unfortunately, this often happens when people inherit an object or a collection from their relatives.

It seems that this person has taken over the job of acting caretaker for this piece of scrimshaw. While there’s nothing wrong in that, she’s missing out on the joy of collecting–the search for other pieces and buying the ones that she likes. But she shouldn’t feel bad. This is more often the case than not.

A caretaker, as the name suggests, cares for an object or a collection. This care usually consists of maintaining the condition of the object, and, of course, finding out how much the object is worth.

A curator, on the other hand, is someone who catalogs and maintains historic or artistic collections. This usually entails the maintenance of the objects and their general protection from damage. The curator also finds out as much as possible about the objects in the collection and, using a number of reliable resources, determines their value. In addition, the curator adds to the collection, refining it by selling off inferior pieces and arranging for the purchase of better ones. In essence, the curator becomes a collector.

So which are you–curator or caretaker? If you’ve been acting as a caretaker, why not change roles and actively get involved in learning all you can about and growing your inherited collection. You don’t know how much fun you’re missing.