"10 Best" Nautical Table Lamps

Skipjack's "10 best" nautical tables lamps created in our lamp studio. Which of these lamps would you find suitable for your home or office?

Photo images are the sole property of Skipjack Nautical Wares & Marine Art Gallery and cannot be reproduced without the written permission from Skipjack Nautical Wares & Marine Art Gallery!

1. Very salty authentic antique anchor lantern re-purposed into a nautical table lamp. Features a thick, clear glass 360 degree Fresnel lens and an open bottom to access the interior light and the lamp lighting choices toggles between the interior light and the lamp light via the upper light switch. You can use either the upper room light, the interior lantern light or both as desired. Here's the link to Skipjack's nautical table lamps.

Authentic antique ship's anchor lantern re-purposed in to a
 nautical table lamp. Skipjack Nautical Wares & Marine Art Gallery.

2.  We've re-purposed this retired mid-20th century ship's navigational light into a handsome and functional nautical table lamp. Made of galvanized metal, the surface retains an old red painted surface and bares the MASTHEAD brass ribbon tag on the front shoulder of the fixture. The glass Fresnel lens survives with a few cracks and rim chips, but is all intact and functional.

We've added all new lamp wires and fixtures and the new lamp lighting choices toggle between the interior light and the lamp light via the upper light switch. You can use either the upper room light, the interior lantern light or both as desired. You gain access to the lamp interior through the hinged back door that locks in place with a wire slide latch. Here's the link to authentic mid-20th century ship's navigational MASTHEAD light. 

 Re-purposed authentic mid-20th century ship's navigational MASTHEAD
light into a handsome and functional nautical table lamp.
Skipjack Nautical Wares & Marine Art Gallery.

3. Early to mid 20th century Perko combination boat running light that we have re-purposed into a nautical table lamp. The lantern is hinged on the sides and both the port and starboard doors open in front of the light. The oval brass Perko manufacturers label is attached to the back and states "PERKO DE-LITE, PERKINS M.L. CO. BRKLYN. NY. USA". Retains an old black painted surface and brass chimney cap and survives with expected surface wear from years of seagoing use. Fresnel lens are free of chips or cracks.  Here's the link to old Perko port/starboard nautical table lamp.

Antique Perko port/starboard boat navigational light re-purposed into a
nautical table lamp with red and blue Fresnel lens.
Skipjack Nautical Wares & Marine Art Gallery.

4.  Another favorite authentic items that we regularly re-purpose are vintage wood ships block and tackle into table lamp. This example features an authentic 4-inch double wheeled maple block with hemp rope passing through the purchase and into the round 7-inch wood base. Here's the link to vintage wood ships block and tackle into table lamp.

Handsome nautical table lamp created using an authentic ship's wood block with tackle. Skipjack Nautical Wares & Marine Art Gallery

5.  Not all of our nautical lamp conversions are made using vintage and antique light fixtures. For example, This beautiful brass Cargo Lantern table lamp is the perfect light to use in your nautical room and coastal home! The lamp is constructed of solid brass with a polished and lacquered finish to ensure a long lasting shine. Features removable glass panes for easy cleaning and replacement if one accidentally gets broken! The lamp lighting choices toggle between the interior light and the lamp light via the upper light switch. You can use either the upper room light, the interior lantern light or both as desired. The interior bulb is reached through the bottom of the fixture by twisting and removing the interior burner. This high-quality ship's cargo lantern is made to commercial ship standards. Here's the link to Skipjack's brass Cargo Lantern table lamp.

 This beautiful brass Cargo Lantern table lamp is the perfect light
to use in your nautical room and coastal home!
Skipjack Nautical wares & Marine Art Gallery.

6.  This is a pair of vintage made buoy table lamps that we restored replacing all of the old fixtures and wires as well as touching up the old painted surfaces. I like this pair of lamps next to a sofa, on a sideboard and as a pair of lights next to your bed. These lamps are no longer on our web store, but we do find them occasionally and offer them restored for sale, Here's the link to our nautical table lamps.

Vintage marine buoy nautical table lamps that restored.
Skipjack Nautical Wares & Marine Art Gallery

7.  This 1960’s vintage anchor lantern has been re-purposed into a nautical table lamp, constructed of solid brass and retains a polished and lacquered finish. The glass that protects the burner and font is a Fresnel lens similar to the type used in lighthouses worldwide. This lens amplifies the light from the bulb so that the light appears much brighter than its actual source. Brass wire guards fastened on with copper rivets protect the lens from potential breakage.

The lamp lighting choices toggles between the interior light and the lamp light via the upper light switch. You can use either the upper room light, the interior lantern light or both as desired. A dimmer can also be added to adjust the light intensity for soft ambient light. The interior bulb is reached through the hinged lid of the fixture. Here's the link to vintage brass anchor nautical table lamp.

Skipjack's hand-carved white whale table lamp.
Skipjack Nautical Wares & Marine Art Gallery.

8.  One of my all time favorite nautical lamps that we've produced was this exceptional pair made from early blocks with tackle that we sold a few years back. These retained their original green-painted surface and gorgeous aged patina. Very large and extremely heavy- unsurpassed quality for those seeking the very best! Contact us to discuss your nautical lamp desires. Our inventory is constantly changing with new items arriving daily. 

An exceptional pair of re-purposed ship's blocks into table lamps.
Skipjack Nautical Wares & Marine Art Gallery. 

9.   Here's another new and authentic marine navigational light that we re-purpose into nautical table lamps are these beautiful authentic port and starboard brass ship's lanterns converted to table lamps. Each lamp has two sockets, one interior and one above under the lampshade. These lamps are made from brand new, never-used, ship's lanterns by the famous Den Haan Roterdam, The Netherlands. New, UL approved sockets and wiring. One turn knob above the lamp allows either just interior light, just lamp light, both lights, or no lights.  Here's the link to authentic port and starboard brass ship's lanterns converted to table lamps.

New brass port and starboard navigational lights with red and green
Fresnel lens re-purposed into nautical table lamps.
Skipjack Nautical Wares & Marine Art Gallery

10.  We'll finish up this year's "top ten" with one of my personal favorites-  a classic authentic WWII era US Navy quarterdeck bell re-purposed in to a nautical table lamp. We re-purposed this bell because of an old repaired crack (barely noticeable) but no longer produces a bell ring. See closeup pictures below.

This cast iron bell was made by the "Harvard Lock Company NY" as embossed on the top of the bell and U.S.N embossed on the bell's lower rim. The bell measures a base diameter of 9 1/2 inches and a height of 9 inches including mounting stem and 19-1/2 inches to the top of the lamp shade (as shown). This Navy bell table lamp will make a nice addition to any nautical inspired interior and home. The bell weighs approximately 17 pounds.

Nautical table lamp that we created using an authentic WWII era
U.S, Navy cast iron quartermaster bell.
Skipjack Nautical Wares & Marine Art Gallery.

These nautical table lamps represent the quality that we produce and offer for sale at Skipjack Nautical Wares & Marine Art Gallery. You can peruse our current collection of table lamps and other nautical lamps, lighting, lamp shades and finials our our web store at Skipjack's lamps and lighting. Also, you should take the time to visit all that we have to offer you- here's the link to Skipjack's home page .   

Photo images are the sole property of Skipjack Nautical Wares & Marine Art Gallery and cannot be reproduced without the written permission from Skipjack Nautical Wares & Marine Art Gallery!

Skipjack Nautical Wares 

& Marine Art Gallery

1172 State Route 32, Round Pond, ME. 04564

207-219-0897 ~ skipjacknauticalwares@gmail.com

www.SkipjackNauticalWares.com

Re-purposing Authentic Marine Lighting into Nautical Table Lamps

Re-purposing Authentic Marine Lighting into Nautical Table Lamps

We offer one-of-a-kind nautical table lamps created using authentic vintage and antique marine ships lights, lamps and lanterns. We also produce nautical inspired table lamps re-purposed from other authentic maritime items such as wood blocks and other shipboard items, handcrafted driftwood sculpture and fancy knot work lamps and as well as colorful coastal creations including painted vintage lobster buoys and hand-blown netted glass jugs and other coastal beach home favorites.  

Check back regularly to view our latest nautical table lamp creations as they are added to the Skipjack Nautical Wares web store or come by and visit us at our showroom in Olde Towne Portsmouth, Virginia! Visit our great selection of nautical table lamps and also our gallery full of everything nautical at Skipjack Nautical Wares & Marine Art Gallery.

Evaluating Antique Binoculars

 It is a daily occurrence that we are asked to tell them what their item is worth, and for the appraiser, one that is simply impossible to correctly evaluate for each and every situation.

 There are a lot of variables that go into appraising and evaluating an item. As a

general overview, these considerations are the product maker, age, condition including any restoration to fix or enhance an item, rarity, proven provenance (not here say) and general interest in a product at any given time, and of course that will most likely change with time.  

Appraisals are written for a number of purposes. Insurance, to correctly appraise for replacement considerations, fair market value for resale, tax donations, inheritance and equitable distribution of an estate to heirs to name a few. These values range in number, for instance an insurance appraisal is its highest price evaluation for replacing an item similar in quality, age, manufacturer or maker, provenance, condition, rarity etc. from a source that offers these items for sale. 

But, these are not the same value as one would expect to typically receive since most people selling items, even on web sites like ebay, are not specialized retail dealers. Also, if one is offering an item to a dealer, do not expect them to buy it at retail value nor anywhere close to it, since they are in the business of buying for resale and need to make a reasonable return on their time, overhead and financial investment. 

Also, appraisers have to physically see an item to appraise it and cannot give you that information over the phone! Appraisal services are NOT free and are typically charged by the item or on an hourly basis.

I’ll have to add here, the dollar value of an old item should be to a collector its least interesting aspect. However, the value does play an important part of the appraisal evaluation, as shown above, but I do recommend that you consider first and foremost the desire to own an item and what that item is worth to you.

BINOCULARS

There are a number of styles of binoculars, and the description used to refer to them can vary.  Typically, 'field glasses' or ‘binocular telescopes’ are a pair of identical or mirror-symmetrical telescopes mounted side-by-side and aligned to point accurately in the same direction, allowing the viewer to use both eyes (binocular vision) when viewing distant objects. Most are sized to be held using both hands, although sizes vary widely from opera glasses to large pedestal mounted military models.

Early 20th century field glasses made by chevalier, Paris.

Unlike a (monocular) telescope, binoculars give users a three-dimensional image: for nearer objects the two views, presented to each of the viewer's eyes from slightly different viewpoints, produce a merged view with an impression of depth.

These are low power, have a very small field of view, and do not work nearly as well as prism binoculars.    In a smaller size, they are opera glasses, and their value increases if they are covered with mother of pearl, abalone shell, ivory or other exotic materials.  Field glasses are typically the most affordable unless they are a very unusual form or manufactured by the top makers, such as the German companies such as Zeiss or Leitz.

German made WWII era Carl Zeiss binoculars are one of the top makers of binoculars.

Prism binoculars. Optical prisms added to the design are another way to turn the image right way up, usually in a Porro prism or roof-prisms design.

Porro Prism Binoculars

Porro prism binoculars are named after Italian optician Ignazio Porro who patented this image erecting system in 1854, which was later refined by makers like the Carl Zeiss Company in the 1890s. Binoculars of this type use a Porro prism in a double prism Z-shaped configuration to erect the image. This feature results in binoculars that are wide, with objective lenses that are well separated but offset from the eyepieces. Porro prism designs have the added benefit of folding the optical path so that the physical length of the binoculars is less than the focal length of the objective and wider spacing of the objectives gives a better sensation of depth. Thus, the size of binoculars is reduced.

Roof-Prisms Binoculars

Binoculars using roof prisms may have appeared as early as the 1870s in a design by Achille Victor Emile Daubresse. Most roof prism binoculars use either the Abbe-Koenig prism (named after Ernst Karl Abbe and Albert Koenig and patented by Carl Zeiss in 1905) or the Schmidt-Pechan prism (invented in 1899) designs to erect the image and fold the optical path. They have objective lenses that are approximately in line with the eyepieces.

Roof-prisms designs create an instrument that is narrower and more compact than Porro prisms. There is also a difference in image brightness. Porro-prism binoculars will inherently produce a brighter image than roof-prism binoculars of the same magnification, objective size, and optical quality, because the roof-prism design employs silvered surfaces that reduce light transmission by 12% to 15%. Roof-prisms designs also require tighter tolerances for alignment of their optical elements (collimation). This adds to their expense since the design requires them to use fixed elements that need to be set at a high degree of collimation at the factory. Porro prisms binoculars occasionally need their prism sets to be re-aligned to bring them into collimation. The fixed alignment in roof-prism designs means the binoculars normally will not need re-collimation.

As a general rule of thumb, German binoculars are considered the most sought after, followed by American, English; and French, which are typically good quality but are more common unless of unusual design. Some of the best names in Japanese optics of WWII or before are often of very high quality.

Some binoculars are center focus, with one central wheel that focuses both sides at once.  Individual focus binoculars are adjusted by rotating each eyepiece.  Each style is desired by different collectors. Very large binoculars are always sought after.  Most binoculars are numbered according to their magnifying power and the diameter of the objective in mm.  12 x 30 optics magnify twelve times and have 30 mm objectives. Some of the older Paris made binoculars lack this information. Personally, I love the old Parisian binoculars, these classic heirlooms are usually quite affordable, fun to use and are a great product for tabletop and bookshelf décor.

A grouping of American made binoculars by Bausch and Lomb.

Another consideration is the ease of use and repairs if needed. Prism binoculars are easily knocked out of alignment, requiring an expensive and difficult repair.  Pristine binoculars are worth far more than when dirty or misaligned, and broken or cracked optics lower the value far more.  Cases help keep binoculars safe and clean but do not add much to the value.

Skipjack Nautical Wares 

& Marine Art Gallery

620 High Street, Portsmouth, VA 23704

www.skipjacknauticalwares.com

757-399-5012
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The Perfect Table Lamps for Your Nautical Home

A matching pair of nautical anchor lanterns converted to table lamps.

Selecting the right furnishings for your nautical room is certainly an important part of creating a successful interior. One product that tends to go unnoticed as a valuable and functioning part of creating the perfect nautical room is the appropriate selection of lamps and lighting. The majority of rooms that we have seen published in home decorating magazines like Coastal Living sometimes feature rooms with a nautical theme but these rooms tend to be lighted with plain, uninteresting lighting selections.  Others have settled for the cheap Chinese made knockoffs like those sold by stores like the Pottery Barn. Granted, the selection of quality nautical lighting is slim at best, but they are available if you know where to look. But before we get into the components of this blog, let's discuss exactly what the word nautical is, because there seems to be a big misunderstanding of what the word means. Nautical, is not a color or a striped fabric, or seashells from the seashore. Nor is it pretty fish or other marine animals. Nautical as defined by Webster's dictionary is relating to, or associated with seaman, navigation, or ships. So although the seashells from the seashore may be a great beach home decor item, they are simply not nautical.

 Appropriate nautical lamps are made from items such as old brass and metal boat or ship lanterns, wood and metal blocks, deadeyes, small anchors and other retired boat and ship parts all work well for creating great lamp conversions. So are maritime instruments such as sextants, octants, compasses and other instruments are other top choices for creating the perfect nautical environment. In other words, items that were used aboard a ship, for navigation or by seaman. Here are some selections of what would be considered a classic, traditional nautical table lamp.

Vintage brass anchor lantern converted into a nautical table lamp.

Re-purposing is the word that we use to describe this practice. Taking vintage and antique nautical items and  redesigning them for a new practical and/or decorative use is what you should look for. Pictured above is a vintage brass anchor lantern designed for use aboard small vessels. Here we took out the original kerosene burner and added an interior electrical light and a room light above. The two lights can be toggled between the upper and lower lights with the upper finger switch. The lamp is completed with a solid wood base and a nautical navigational chart lamp shade. This is one of the best nautical lamps that you can buy because it gives both room light as well as ambient light. A dimmer switch can easily be added so you can create the desirable mood when needed. We also recommend that you choose LED light bulbs for the interior lamp light since they do not give off heat. Also make sure that when selecting a bulb, that it is compatible with a dimmer switch.

A classic antique wood block makes an outstanding nautical lamp.

Wood blocks comes in all shapes and sizes and we have made these into lamps using everything from small single-wheeled blocks to large, multi-wheeled blocks from ships. Shown above is a classic design block lamp with 1 inch thick hemp rope covering the metal wheels. This lamp was originally made by Abercrombie & Fitch when they were a sporting goods store and is now shown with a basic burlap lamp shade. Retains a pleasing old varnished finish and was mounted on to an oval oak base.

This nautical lamp was made using an antique lignum-vitae wood deadeye.

Other nautical hardware from ships are deadeyes. Though not as common as blocks, these make exceptional nautical table lamps. Shown here mounted on to a round wood base and with a pleated silk shade.

A vintage ship--in-a-bottle re-purposed into a table lamp.

Sometimes our nautical table lamps are made from vintage and antique hand-crafted items like this sailor-made ship-in-a-bottle diorama. The upper lighting is used as both an interior room light and to spotlight the artwork. This becomes a great conversation piece as well! Shown with a barrel shaped fabric lamp shade.

Old bronzed metal lighthouse converted into a table lamp. Perfect look for your coastal home.

Though not used aboard a ship, the lighthouse is definitely the sailor's best friend with a beam of light that shows them the way home and to keep them away from dangerous shoals that have caused a many a shipwreck. We made this from a vintage bronzed metal lighthouse base and added the light fixture above. Still works great as a perfect look for your nautical room.

Hanging antique metal nautical anchor lantern.

Shown above is an early 20th century anchor lantern with an interior electrical light. A customer purchased it and we converted it into a table lamp. You simply cannot reproduce the quality and look of an authentic, used nautical light!

Hand-tied marlinspike rope table lamp shown with a handmade navigational chart lampshade.

Our large-size Marlinspike Lamp is hand-made using the traditional turk's head knot at the base of the lamp pedestal and french whipping around the body of the lamp; Made here in Olde Towne Portsmouth by a member of the Skipjack Nautical Wares Studio. Solid walnut base. 

Nautical instruments are another great choice to use to make a nautical table lamp. Pictured above is an antique ebony wood and brass sextant with it's storage box used as the wood base. This way the instrument makes a great table lamp and display but without damaging the rare instrument. 

Pair of nautical lanterns like these early 20th century port and starboard lights make great table lamps, especially where you need two identical lamps like on each end of a sofa. These again can be easily converted with an interior light source and with a room light above. We recommend that when using valuable vintage and antique lanterns that you go about it by doing the less damage to it as possible. Though most of the lanterns that we use are beyond their days of sea use, the value still lies in their authenticity and condition. Always a consideration when you go about drilling a bunch of holes in it.

Last but by no means least in completion your nautical lamp is the right selection of a lamp shade and finial. Shown below are Skipjack's navigational chart lamp shades. These are available in three stock sizes and also as a custom size. Skipjack also offers as part of it's custom program your choice of a NOAA navigational chart so you can select a body of water close to home or a favorite shoreline destination.

Nautical chart lamp shades is a wonderful way to top off your nautical table lamp.

The final touch is selecting a handsome nautical themed lamp finial. From polished brass to hand-tied monkeys fist knotted finials, they add the right finishing look to creating the perfect nautical lamp. Shown below is our fowled anchor finial. Hey, sometimes a nautical finial alone can be enough!

These are some great examples of classic style nautical table lamps, and since most of these are made from old lighting and other nautical wares, most are one-of-kind and once sold are no longer available. Interested in dressing up your nautical room with a re-purposed authentic nautical table lamp? Here's a link to our NEW! JUST IN so you can see our selection when they become available and other great nautical items to dress up you home too! Here's a link to Skipjack Nautical Wares home page so you can peruse through our full line of nautical items.