Antique Wallpaper Roller Lamp
An antique lamp converted from a vintage wooden wallpaper printing roller, with felt and brass inset detail. The pattern consists of red ornate tassels and resembles those of fabric such as curtains or drapes.
The lamp has been fitted with modern safety conforming electrics including B.C. switching bulb holder (no shade included). The lamp fitting is brass with a chrome finish and a stylish off white twisted cable (approx 1.75 metres in length) with a white plug.
Originally made from sycamore or possibly maple wood, the roller has been bonded / fixed into a simple turned wooden base, left in its natural state with a sanded only finish (not varnished as so many of these artefacts are) and a similar wooden top for the lamp fitting has been added. Adapting it in this way using similar materials to the roller itself gives it a modern look that can go into new or old interiors equally comfortably. It has not been varnished or stained to look like a relic from the 1950s and not part of this modern world of design.
The original drive method has been left visible under the top wooden fitting, which shows the screws holding the tapered bore collar and keyway for driving the rollers on the machine from its mounting shaft, as is still used to this day.
As it is an original antique, it is a one-off, which truly means there is no other the same in the world, so unique to you, the buyer. The design shows ornate tassels.
Condition of the roller is as expected for wood of its age including cracks and decay, and detail may be missing from the roller. Any imperfections have not been disguised as it is part of its history and adds to the character of the item.
These beautiful artefacts usually have design numbers (this one has 4141 on it) and each roller would have printed one colour onto the wallpaper. The master roller would often show the outline drawing of the rest of the design formed by other rollers. This is evident on this roller. The wallpaper would have been printed on a surface print machine that created the most opulent wallpapers). It also contains registration pins that were apparently used to align the roller with other rollers to ensure the pattern was lined up correctly and if it was a master roller, the pins also indicate how many rollers made up the whole pattern.
The roller was made by hand and considering the period it was made, it's quite unbelievable how detailed it is. It has been left showing the remains of the paint colours that would have been used to print the wallpaper it was designed for.
It is probably American / British (shared design / manufacture) in origin and thought to be between 70-110 years old.
The roller was one of many discovered in a barn in England after having been brought to the UK from the USA in the 1970s (apparently from a mill in Chicago) and is of a condition expected of wood of its age, with some cracks and decay showing, but which add to the character of this lamp. No attempts have been made to disguise its true age, nor take away anything from the fact that it was part of an industrial process and would have only been seen by the designers / makers and the printers themselves. It's worth taking some time to try and visualise the way it would have worked and possibly alongside other rollers from the design set and use your eyes to see the cleverness of the artisan makers and the way they inserted brass strips into the wood to form not only the design, but a level surface throughout that enabled the whole detail areas to print wallpaper with nothing missing and no holes punched through. Very clever, particularly for the time, and really worth appreciating.
Approximate Specifications:
Approximate height from the bottom of the base to the top of the wooden top is 68cm and 74cm from the bottom of the base to the top of the light fitting.
The weight is approximately 10.8kg.
