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WHAT’S SELLING ON eBay
WHAT’S SELLING ON eBay

by Philip Hawkins and Mike McLeod

$3,850 (15 bids, 8 bidders): Large Antique Pat’d 1885 General Electric $2,600 (15 bids, 4 bidders): Antique 17th century Bellarmine
Arc Lamp Street Light & Globe. The General Electric Company was Bartmann Bartmannkrug German Stoneware Jug. Description: 17th
formed in 1892 as a result of a merger between Edison General Electric century German stoneware jug. The jug has a round belly and a mask of a
Company and the Thompson-Houston Company. This auction is for a bearded man applied in relief to the neck. And three crests (same design)
complete 19th century Thompson enclosed electric arc streetlamp. The decorated the front and both sides. This jug has a spout unusual for the
top section measures 9 inches in diameter by 25 inches, and the original Bellarmine jug.
globe measure 11 inches in diameter, making the overall length 37 inches. Condition: old several chips
This large electric arc light was used as an early streetlight, and the label are on the edge of the bottom.
reads, “Thompson Enclose Arc Lamp Alternating Current Ptd Aug 5, 89, And there are some kiln errors
Apr 7, 95, Dec 24, 95 Patents Applied For General Elec. Co. U.S.A.” We such as the small cracks on the
found an example of this lamp on the net showing the bracket, which crest. There is not any restora-
would hold this lamp to a light pole. tion. Height: 9 inches. Weight:
The small, hand-blown chimney has a piece missing from the top 1.3kg. (Photos courtesy of eBay
edge. That’s it! There are no other problems. (Photos courtesy of eBay seller zeisan21.)
seller wwolst21.)
PH: A Bartmann (German,
meaning “bearded man”) jug,
also called “Bellarmine” jug, is a
type of decorated salt-glaze
stoneware jug manufactured in
Europe throughout the 16th and
17th centuries, particularly in the
Cologne region of Germany. The
signature detail was a bearded
face mask appearing on the neck.
They were made in jug, bottle,
and pitcher forms of various sizes
for storing or dispensing drink
and food.
In the 17th century, they were
often decorated with a medallion
in the middle of the body, usually
a coat of arms, but other types of
ornamental patterns were used as
well; the designs of the face masks
changed becoming progressively
grotesque. Though of German
origins, their apparent popularity
fostered similar articles being
made in Belgium and England,
PH: The technology and testing of arc lamps were mostly carried out in either as copies or by immigrant
European labs prior to 1880. Once workable, arc lamps were first used for Germans. During a stoneware
street and factory lighting due to their brightness, then, in theaters, projec- revival in the late 19th century,
tors, and film production. In the 1880s, incandescent lamps replaced arc Bartmann jugs were reproduced
lamps for most interior lighting, but it was still used for streetlights and based on illustrations from muse-
factory lighting into the early 20th century. Most arc lamp metal fixtures um collections.
were scrapped for WWI use. The spout does seem to be
Arc lamps continued in limited production after most were replaced in unusual as most examples appear
the 1920s and ‘30s but continued in the film industry until the 1980s. Given with round openings with an
the early demise due to advancing technology, danger, temperamental incised ring, I think to facilitate
operation, and WWI, early lights are pretty scarce. Between auctions and sealing the opening. Some also
eBay, not many of the larger commercial fixtures appear to remain. appear with attached, hinged lids.
Here is a sampling of related fixture sales: Thompson enclosed arc The jugs appear for sale at
lamp, GE, no shade, sold March 2016 for $1,150; two Thompson auction and on eBay. The most
Houston arc lamps, GE, ca. 1900, no shades, sold May 2021 for $1,950; expensive reported sale I found at
and a GE “Novalux” copper street light lamp, sold December 2020 for auction was in 2020 at Timeline Auctions of London, England, for $4,300
$899. followed by a 7-inch example in 2020 at John McInnis Auctions for
Interestingly, a pair of German-made miniature (model railroad) 18.5- $2,500. Sales reported from eBay include good examples selling from
inch arc street lamps with poles realized $3,750 at auction in Sept. 2020. $1,125 to $1,500 but most from less than $100 to around $700.
continued on page 12
8 Journal of Antiques and Collectibles