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Highlights of the Spring 2010 Meeting Night Light Club 2010 Annual Convention Rushlight Club Spring 2010 Meeting
President
Joe
Barton Past President Cam Kenny
After registration in the morning and a buffet lunch, President Joe Barton
welcomed seventy six members to the Spring meeting at Cobourg, Ontario, held at
the Best Western Inn, Cobourg, ON on 19 April, 2010. After some preliminary Club business President Joe Barton introduced our keynote speaker, Barry Schwartz, a member of our Club and an avid collector and dealer specializing in miniature lamps. Barry was ably assisted in his presentation by his wife, Kay, both of which manage the website Bidstracker.com which records and analyzes the sales of miniature lamps. Barry began by talking about the definition of a miniature lamp, and by consensus of the abundance of advertising, showed the true definition to be a night lamp. Their production began in the 1860s and continued well into the twentieth century. Early miniature lamps were produced by companies such as Atterbury (with their Log Cabin, Shoe, and Human Head (William Penn) lamps) and by Plume and Atwood (P&A) with the Nutmeg lamps. The 1890's era was the beginning of the production of fancier miniature lamps by companies like Hobbs, who were producing optic opalescent glass, and Consolidated and other companies who were making table and vase miniature lamps. After covering a wide variety of miniature lamps, Barry then talked about the geography of the manufacture of the minis: in the U.S. the majority of makers being in New England and along the Ohio Valley area in the Midwest. In Canada in southern Ontario and in other parts of the world including the British Isles, Germany, France, and the Bohemian areas in Europe. Barry covered the various components including burners, the types and sizes of collars, shade ring holders and tripods. Mention was made of various figural miniature lamps, mostly from Europe and made of porcelain and depicting many types of animals, icons and cherubs. In summary, he stated that there were 2200 miniature lamps that were listed, and several hundred more that were not. Despite some of the research that has been done, there is still a lot to learn about the history and manufacture of these small lamps. Next on the agenda were the Theme table and the Show and Tell (or Ask?) table. The Theme Table was, of course, miniature lamps. Finally all enjoyed a buffet dinner by lamplight, followed by an evening of socializing in the hospitality room. On Sunday, several members attended an open house at David and Mary Jane Broughton's home. Night Light Club 2010 Annual Convention The 16th Night Light Convention is tentatively planned to be held in Millville, New Jersey on Oct 7 - 9, 2010 at the Wheaton Arts (formerly Wheaton Village). For those unfamiliar with this lighting club, Night Light is a non-profit club for collectors of miniature oil lamps. The Night Light newsletter is published quarterly. For further information check out the Night Light at the link on the Lighting Links page or contact Bob Culver at "rculver107@aol.com" Remember that the Night Light Club always has a table at the Annual Aladdin Gathering, which this year (2010) will be at Columbia, Missouri on 5 - 7 August, 2010. Rushlight Club Spring 2010 Meeting The Rushlight Club held their Spring 2010 meeting in sunny Chicago, Illinois from April 30th to May 2nd. Check out the happenings on the Rushlight Club web site. Again, for those not familiar with this long-time lighting club, The Rushlight Club, Inc. an International Association of Collectors & Students of Historic Lighting, was formed back in 1932 and their quarterly publication was begun in 1934. A link to this lighting club is also found on our "Lighting Links" page. A point of information; the Rushlight holds their Summer meeting in conjunction with the Aladdin Knights wherever they are meeting. As does the Night Light club above. The 2010 Aladdin Gathering for 2010 will be held at Columbia, Missouri with the exact date and information announced below. 2010 Gathering - The National Association of Aladdin Lamp Collectors, Inc.
The 38 Gathering of the National Association of Aladdin Lamp Collectors, Inc. will be held at the Holiday Inn Select Executive Center in Columbia Missouri between 5 August 2010 and 7 August 2010. Hotel room rates are $87.95 per night; reservations must be made by 7 July 2010 to receive this rate. The International Show & Sale will be held Friday afternoon (6 August 2010) for Aladdin Members and Registered Guests, then open to the general public from 9 am until 3 pm on Saturday, 7 August 2010. Room trading is a popular activity and gets started earlier in the week before the main activities of the Aladdin Gathering. This is, by far, the largest show and sale of Aladdin and other kerosene lighting in North America! There is an Aladdin only auction held on Thursday, 5 August 2010 which often sets the trend for prices for the year? There are Educational Seminars on Friday and Saturday that cover various subjects like tips for repairing an item, spotting a fake or recognizing a rarity, or talks on lighting other than Aladdin lamps. There will be people there from all over the World and representatives of the Rushlight Club and the Night Light Club (miniature lamps). Make your plans and don't miss it!
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