Hi Tom,..my wife & I recently purchased a 1911 Edwardian/Victorian home & unfortunately most of the original lighting is missing from the house. I’m in the process of doing the historical research of the property & assessing the current original state of the house. I’m emailing you curious as to what your suggestion of what might have been in the house originally & what you might suggest for lighting for the proper period as we are hoping to restore some of the original features to the house especially lighting….thank you … James
Hi James,
Can you send photos and a description ( ceiling heights and room sizes) so I can get an idea of what is there.
Tom Powers
Yes I absolutely can. I’ll get you the info by the end of the day & some photos of what I think are the remaining original light fixtures.,…thank you for the fast reply
-James-
Tom,..well here’s some photos of what I think are the remaining original fixtures, but the most interesting one is the one with the round globe that I found in the built in. I’ll send photos of the parlor room, dining room & staircase, as I think chandeliers once hung in those specific places.
-James
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Hi James,
Yes, the two original lights are the one painted yellow( probably originally black) and the sconce with the new pleated shade.
So, Edwardian followed the Victorian period where each square inch of a room was traditionally filled with a design detail. Edwardian was more spaciously decorated. The Victorian era was influenced by the Industrial Revolution and machines. In the Edwardian era, what was put in rooms more occupied its own space and was perhaps more organic like Art Nouveau, which was more of a design sub style in the US than Architectural style like in Europe:
2322G above, is a Gas Chandelier that might have been used. The spacious simplicity of the Edwardian style would make a Chandelier like this stand out as an important element in the room rather than competing with many other elements like in the Victorian Era.
Also Leaded, Stained and Slag Glass would have been used. The popularity during this time of Tiffany, Handel and other Stained Glass preyers attest to
this. It is the Arts and Crafts period and the Art Nouveau period:
We have many Sconces on the Website also.
We do not cary lamps but they can help light rooms as well.
Best,
Tom Powers
Tom,..WOW thank you for the info! You are very knowledgeable. You are exactly who we are going to need to get this house back in shape. I don’t want to bombard you with a ton of ?’s. However I will probably have many over the course of this..we definitely will be working with you for our lighting needs.This will be an adventure to say the least.
I’ve worked in the trades for many years ( carpenter,etc.) so it’s in good hands. Am I correct in architecture as in it’s definitely Edwardian ? & would this have had gas lighting or electrical by that point originally? It looks like the original lights are a “plated brass” it patinas brown, not green, (haven’t put magnet on it yet)…also what do you think of the white (porcelain?) Globe sconce I found (sorry not the greatest pic) do you know what period that would fall in?….thank you so much for getting back to me,I’ll take a look at your suggestion for lighting… the house does have a (servants quarters) so apparently the original owners were rather wealthy,..floors are parquet & all woodwork is red oak.
– James –
-James –
Like the built ins. The windows are leaded glass which would pick up on leaded glass lighting.
Tom
Right, so your suggesting also lighting that has the leaded glass or slag glass ,that would work well in this house?…we saw the star type leaded glass lights (love those) …I’m learning all about this for the first time , I have had my hands in antiques but not this specialty, it is absolutely fascinating to me!
-James-
Where are you located. I may be able to tell you about Gas from your location.
Tom
We are in a little Hamlet .. . About an hour south of Rochester NY.
-James-
James –
So I would look for Gas lines in the wall. You have to remember NYC was the first City to be Electrified. In most cities near NYC 1911 would be an electric build. In other cities you see electric as a renovation and the gas fixtures go to the attic. I know you are upstate but maybe in Rochester especially if the owners were wealthy. But a lot of cities were still running Gas in 1911. They did not trust the new technology.
Tom
Ok right well we are south of Rochester, in the country, so more than likely this probably had gas at one point. I do think there are gas lines. I saw one in the attic. I’m not completely sure as of yet, still trying to find the time (family/ life obligations) to asses everything completely, & there are still secrets to the house I’m uncovering.
We just bought the house a month ago ,…the house has a giant stone cistern & the barn has a double hole privy (both a little different) than the typical I’ve seen in old houses.
James