The TV Lamp Collectors Blog

The wife and I decided to spend Saturday hitting area antique shops in the never-ending quest for vintage pottery. We found some cool stuff, but only after sifting through a lot of “junk”. Sound familiar? I suppose the thing that really bugs me on such outings is the incredible number of “antique malls/shops” that don’t sell antiques. Actually, in theory at least, the term “antiques” refers to items at least 100 years old, furniture more often than not. But that’s not usually what I’m after, and it’s the word “collectibles” that more closely describes the things I seek, smaller things, things not quite so old. (I believe mid-century lamps fall nicely into that category) A great number of folk are searching for just such collectibles when they go antiquing, and most places cater to just such shoppers. Then there’s the ones that don’t have antiques, that don’t have collectibles. They’re all about catering to this sort of faux-nostalgic junk that I have an array of creative names for: country-chic, granny-chic, and a few that I won’t repeat here. One can recognize these places the moment you enter the door, as the pungent smell of potpourri is positively lethal. A quick scan of the establishment will reveal all sorts of rustic/victorian-era things, most crafted less than five years ago and painted in pastel shades of blue, pink, or green. Plenty of decorative things made from tin will be in evidence (hand-painted watering pails and the like) as well as sand-sculptures of dogs and children. Did I mention the eye-watering stench of potpourri?
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Now this is a rare scene… a photo from the ’50s showing TV lamps, lots of them, on the shelves in a retail outlet! These are obviously of the “touristy” variety, made up from shells and sprinkled with plastic figures and such. I haven’t addressed this unique style of lamp on tvlamps.net, but am working to correct that oversight. The picture is shared here through the generosity of Charles Phoenix, purveyor of all things retro. If you haven’t seen his website, well, you haven’t lived! I command thee, go there now.

It’s been a long time since a Hedi Schoop “skyscraper” TV lamp has been up for auction, but that’s precisely what is now listed as eBay item #180208433121. It’s got a couple of condition issues but presents nicely. This is a rare opportunity to add this spectacular lamp to your collection… auction ends on Jan. 26th!

Update: Final selling price, $688.58

I’m going to stray off-topic even more than usual here to share a great website, Modern Mechanix. It includes hundreds of scanned articles from vintage copies (from the ’30s and beyond) of Popular Science, Popular Mechanics, Modern Mechanix and the like, and is a great place to spend a few hours. The blog entries are sorted into many categories, covering transportation, home, television, science and much more. Be warned, it’s addictive!

I’ve been playing around some more with Flash on texansinc.com, and have added an audio clip to the Howard Kron page. (see previous post) The song that so well represents Howard’s days as a singer, Pedlar of Dreams, was performed and recorded by Corey Ash (Band Director at Howard Payne University) for inclusion on the site, and appears at the bottom of the page. I toyed with different styles for the play/pause/stop buttons, and can’t decide if I like them or not…we’ll see. Creating Photoshop buttons isn’t something I have trouble with, but the implementation of Flash effects, now that’s another story! Before I post the four “designers” pages I hope to make menu page for them, something that will include some image effects that, while crystal clear in my mind, are going to put my Flash skills (or the lack thereof) to the test. Any Flash pros out there that would care to volunteer their assistance?

I thought I’d give my blog readers a “sneak peek” at the biography of Howard Kron that I just finished. It’s one of four pages that will focus on the Texans Incorporated designers, and will be posted on texansinc.com once they’re all done. There’s no link to this from the website yet, but I had to share it… don’t tell anyone! The Designers: Howard Kron

I thought this would be a good time to clue everyone in on my recent and future exploits. I’ve been putting a good deal of time into my beloved side-project, texansinc.com, toying around with Flash animation. Since that site doesn’t receive the same volume of visitors that flock to tvlamps.net I’m a little more comfortable using it as a test-bed, a place to make risky changes that might not work properly or simply look bad. (20/20 hindsight and all) As my “bravery quotient” increases I’ll no doubt apply Flash to tvlamps.net as well. At the present time, the texansinc.com header (title graphic) does indeed have a certain goofy quality, and I’ll definitely change it this week. My experience with Flash goes back all of 48 hours, so forgive any “issues” with the pages as I claw my way up the learning curve. Besides the funky moving header on the main page, I’ve also applied a little Flash work to the “71 Fire” page. (shown above) Previously, to view the fire movie footage one clicked on a link that would, hopefully, cause the .mpg file to play from the visitors default movie player. Now the clip is embedded into the page with Flash, a handy play button residing below it. (more…)