Beauty matters

I live frugally and do not spend money often on “toys” or luxuries. My definition of “luxury” is probably out of step with modern sensibilities. To my mind, things like Keurig machines, brand-new must-have electronic gizmos, etc., are luxuries.

My old drip coffee maker, my 1970s appliances, these all work just as well as they ever did. I see no reason to spend money on new things for the sake of having new things. Besides, older goods are better made and last longer.

The one area where I spend money (or did, when I had a job) is on kerosene lamps. They’re my hobby, and I’ve dreamed of owning them since I was a kid who played with matches and bought old grunged up oil lamps from garage sales to my mother’s annoyance.

About 12 years ago, I said to myself, “You’re a fully grown man. You can, actually, buy antique kerosene lamps and light your entire house with them if you want.”

That’s what I’ve done. In the winter, my small house is lit almost exclusively with antique kerosene lamps. Table lamps, suspended lamps with glorious shades over the dining room table, wall-mounted lamps on baroque Victorian cast-iron swing-arms.

Sure, I like mechanical things, and I’m into old technology. It gives me a thrill. But mainly, it’s about beauty. These lamps turn an ordinary small, non-descript house into a charming and inviting place to be on cold evenings. A slightly gayer Hobbit hole, if you will.

This is my favorite lamp. Lady Deverre. She is a modern lamp, a reproduction of originals. But the burner (Kosmos-type) is still made by the same family company in France (Gaudard) who has been making them since the 1860s.

These European-style lamps use a flat wick that is coiled around a cylinder to give a round wick. The resulting flame is brighter and whiter than most American flat wick oil lamps (the kind you think of when you read the phrase “oil lamp). It’s the perfect balance of light and heat for a small room, and it sips kerosene.

Kevin (my friend and business partner on Disaffected) just helped me fix the base, which had become separated from the glass font.

For this one, I bought a special chimney from a guy who had them re-made in borosilicate glass from the original (Dutch?) design. The narrow constrictions and unusual thinness of this chimney make the lamp brighter than any other setup. It pulls the flame into a tall Christmas-tree shape.

If you want one of your own:

1. The full lamp is available from Woody Kirkman at WT Kirkman lamps. Look for the Deverre table lamp line. He’s been out of stock recently, but more should be coming.

2. Select a “#14” burner. These are the most common, among the brightest.

3. The chimney that comes with is fine, and OK. But if you want the best light, buy the “sans rival” chimney for Kosmos-type lamps. Miles Stair is a guy on the West coast who knows everything there is to know about lamps, wicks, chimneys, and such, from all over the world. Visit his shop for details.

He has proper, quality wicks and chimneys for any type of lamp. If he can’t find it, he gets a manufacturer to make it.

Expect to pay about $225 for the lamp and the extra sans rival chimney.

In pic 2, above, look for bonus Mina kitty. She loves the lamps and sleeps near them, which means sleeping near me.