| |
PAGE TOPICS
Mission
Tips for Avoiding Fakes
Tallin No. 20 Reflector Lantern
Railroad Dining Car Lamp
Candle Lamps
Scott New Vigilant Railroad Lamp
Central Union & Pacific Lantern
Pennsylvania Railroad Lantern
Santa Fe and Union Pacific Lamp
Pullman Silver Palace Car Lamp
TagsPRODUCTS
American Made Items
Dietz Lanterns
W.T. Kirkman Lanterns & Accesories
W.T. Kirkman Custom Items Gallery
Oil Lamps
Aladdin Mantle Lamps
Electric Lamps, Lanterns, & Adapters
Rinaudo's Reproductions
Replacement Glass
Replacement Parts and Wick
Brackets & Hangers
Books, CDs, and Collectables
Featured Items
Lamp Oil
Special Order
Catalog/Info Request
Electric Lantern Photos
UPDATED!
Kosmos Oil Lamps
INFORMATION
Frequently
Asked Questions
Dietz
American Lanterns
Dietz Company
History
Lantern Care & Terminology
Lantern Patent Information
Replacement
Lantern Globe Index
Links and
Resources
Fakes, Frauds, &
Forgeries
LanternNet Search Tool
GREAT TOOL!
Dealer Locator and Application
How to Use the LanternNet E-Store
About Us
Lantern Collectors Facebook Page
|
|
Oil
Lamp and Lantern
FAKES, FRAUDS, &
FORGERIES
and How to Avoid Them.
"This page is dedicated to
those that would have you believe that anything made of brass must either be a bona
fide
antique, or an heirloom handed down from a long gone relative. And also to those
that take advantage of the unsuspecting by using long respected company names as a device
to lure the same into believing the hoax they perpetrate."
Mission
With the popularity of oil lamp and lantern collecting on the rise, we regularly receive
inquiries from those looking to authenticate items that can be called nothing less than a
fake, fraud, or forgery. As a service to collectors worldwide, we have assembled
here the most blatant items, and have identified earmarks to enable even the novice
collector to make better informed decisions when contemplating purchasing an item of
questionable origin. It is our aim to continually update this page, as new fakes are
always turning up. Your contributions of items that deserve to be listed here are
always welcomed, as are your comments or questions. Visit our links page for other
sites that feature information on fake items.
Tips
for Avoiding Fakes
1. Beware of sellers that use language
like:
"Antique Looking. . . ."
". . . . Primitive . . . ."
"Any residual lamp oil will also be drained prior to shipping."
". . . . any cleaning will be left up to the high bidder"
". . . . very nice patina on the brass . . . ."
"I don't have the time to disassemble this item to try to clean the metal"
"just a couple of small cosmetic dings & scratches"
". . . . it would be very easy to even electrify. . . ."
Or any other language used to suggest an
older item than what it really is.
2. Look for authentic patent dates and
check against a perpetual calendar to see if they fall on a Tuesday. (99% of all
U.S. patents are issued on Tuesdays.)
3. Check for proper Manufacturer
markings, including "Made in U.S.A." if appropriate.
4. Watch for "faked" patina.
5. Check brass or copper items with a magnet. If it sticks, it is plated, not
solid.
6. Brass is the metal of choice for
producing fakes. It can be easily "aged" using chemicals to give it that
100 year-old look.
Please be patient while this graphics intense page
loads.
Click on the Images Below for Larger Views.
|
|
|
Tallin Mfg. Co. No. 20 (Fake)
It took some research, but a few years ago I got the low down on the infamous, and
poorly made Tallin Mfg. Co. No. 20 Reflector Lantern. They are all reproductions,
made in India in the 1980's on new tooling that was backwards engineered from an
original C. T. Ham Mfg. Co. #20 Reflector Lantern. They were brought into the U.S. by
the AA Importing Company of St. Louis. (The owner's name is Richard Tallin.)
The "official" looking patent dates stamped into the vertical air tube are
completely bogus. All of the reflector lanterns they imported were made of either
brass or copper, and were sold with reproduction #0 Tubular Globes that are frosted white,
something that was never done 100 years ago. The tooling no longer exists for the
Tallin No. 20 Lanterns, and AA Importing no longer imports lanterns. Many collectors
have been fooled by this one over the years, paying hundreds over its original retail
price of $50. Don't let tarnished examples of this lamp fool you.
 
|
"Railroad Dining Car" Lamp (Assorted Frauds)
More than fifteen years ago some enterprising chap found that if you take an old
lantern globe, some new lamp parts, some copper tubing, and an old lantern burner, put
them all together and add a tag with a railroad logo or the "PULLMAN" name, that
you could turn $20 worth of parts and a couple of hours of labor into a $1000 fake if you
added a good story about it being a rare "Dining" or "Pullman" Lamp.
In fact, these fantasy "Fakes" are not based on any original design, and
are not even operational in a practical sense. The perpetrator mixes original parts
with new parts to make the hoax convincing. Each one that has turned up has been
different from the others, but all seem to follow a common design.
"Electric" versions have also surfaced. Unfortunately several people have
been taken for $1000 or more for these worthless fakes. Don't let tarnished examples
fool you.
  
|
Candle Lamps (Assorted Fakes)
Railway car candle lamps were originally produced well over 100 years ago, but
still turn up regularly for sale at swap meets, and online auctions. Their brass
construction, compactness, and original intended railway use makes for a nice
collectable item. This is something that has not gone unnoticed by foreign
manufacturers. While the original candle lamps will usually have either an
Adams & Westlake (Adlake) mark or occasionally a Dayton Mfg. Co. mark, the
imported "fake" versions are distinctly different, and can have any number of
markings, including: "Pullman" or "Pullman Silver Palace Car
Co.," "Wells Fargo Co.." "White Star," etc..
See the "tag" section below for samples. Don't let tarnished
examples fool you.
|
Scott New Vigilant Railroad Lamp (Fake)
The John Scott Lamp Company was started in 1957 near San Jose, California, and is
still in business today. They produce both replica light fixtures as well as custom
architectural grade fixtures. In the 1970's they started to offer oil
burning versions of some of their electric replica fixtures using "Duplex" type brass
burners made in England and stamped with the "John Scott" name. The New
Vigilant Railroad Lamp is still made, and offered in both electric and oil
burning versions. It cannot be classified as a reproduction, as this lamp is not a copy of
an original pattern. The globe is common in size to the one used in the Dietz
Pioneer Street Lamp. Don't let tarnished examples fool you.
 
|
Central Union & Pacific Tubular
Lantern (Fake)
| The first tip off
that this is a fake is the fact that there was never a Central Union & Pacific
Railroad. The lantern itself is either a Chinese or Indian made
copy of a European copy of the Dietz Junior, not a railroad lantern by any means.
(Note the European style bail "ears.") This lantern has also appeared with
other railroad names as well as "Wells Fargo Co." ownership tags.
Constructed of solid brass with a faked patina. |
 |
|
Pennsylvania Railroad Tubular Lantern (Fake)
These first appeared about 20 years ago, and are believed to have originated in
India. They are loosely patterned after the Dietz Little Wizard, and are poorly made
of thin brass that is susceptible to stress cracks. The original globes are thin
compared to originals, and are known to have been made in pale blue and pale green.
These lanterns were never used on the Pennsy, or any other railroad for the matter.
A curiousity and earmark are two holes in one air tube, (see pictures.) Don't let
tarnished examples fool you. Pure Junque! |
Santa
Fe and Union Pacific Oil Lamps (Fake)
The origin and age of these is unknown, but they appear to be from India from as
early as 1975. Known examples have appeared with either Santa Fe or Union Pacific
embossed in the side of the fount, but other railroad names may also exist.
Variations with both large and small or no reflectors have surfaced, but the poor
lettering is always a tip-off. Don't let tarnished examples fool you. |
Pullman
Silver Palace Car Co. Oil Lamp (Fake)
| Here is a fine example of a $5
lamp with a fake tag to boost the price as high as a naive buyer will pay.
In the first place, there was never a Pullman Silver Palace Car
Company. In the second place, this lamp is so poorly constructed, the
"Pullman Company" would have been ashamed to have their name affixed to it.
In the third place, this is not like any lamp or lantern ever used on any railroad.
Take special notice of the poorly aligned vent holes and the mis-matched oil pot.
Also note the unmarked adjustable burner that uses 1/4" round wick, (instead
of flat wick.) The use of patina is overdone to take your attention away from the
poor construction in this case. The country of origin is most likely India. |
 |
|
Assorted
Maker/Owner Tags (Fake)
The sole purpose of fake maker/owner tags is to increase the perceived value of the
item to which they are attached. With the abundance of fake tags on fake lamps and
lanterns, they have started showing up attached to real antiques. Other fakery
includes the tag for "Scott's Lamp Co." which is a take off of the "Scott
Lamp Company," a company that didn't exist until 1957.
"Wells-Fargo" tags are one of the most common fakes, and regularly used on goods
from China and India.
|
