This shade was found in a crawl space of a home which is on the Historic Register in Centerville, Utah. My client estimates the shade had been in the dark crawl space for 50 years! The crawl space was dry but the shade had no protective wrap and was under other objects stored in the space.
Historic Home in Centerville, Utah
The shade was covered with dust. The cover material was fragile, to say the least! All the panels have been hand painted. The center “cameo” has a picture of a bird. Maybe a dove, not exactly sure. The cover material was sealed with a clear hardening finish.
Historic Lampshade found in crawl space of Centerville, Utah Home
To clean the historic cover, I swept using brush and crevice tool sweeper fittings. I use a computer vac for sweeping. After sweeping, I lightly went over the lampshade cover with a lint roller. You can see where the shade had been previously patched. Never did I touch the fragile cover with any liquid. Liquid damage is permanent and there is no way of undoing the damage. Not to mention water and dust make mud!
Vintage Shade in Crawl Space of Historic Home
I was ready to remove the cover from the frame. I decided to try and remove the cover in one piece. To avoid damaging any of the panels still intact, I decided to cut at the top and bottom of the oval. I was able to successfully remove the entire cover in one piece.
Historic Lampshade Cover Cleaned and Removed from Vintage Frame
After removing the lampshade cover from the frame, I swept the shade couple more times. My client is using the historic lampshade cover as a display. The cover has been returned to my client and the wire frame is in my care!
The frame is in mint condition, as in there is NO rust! That clearly tells me the crawl space in which the shade was stored, was very dry. The frame was broke in one place but will be able to be repaired.
Historic Lampshade Wire Frame in Mint Condition
It will be quite some time until I get to restore this frame for myself due to the success of my business. As in any other business, personal projects are in waiting. When the frame is restored, I will post the finished project.
A very special “Thanks” to my client
for the pleasure and challenge
to save a historic piece of our lighting heritage.
Thank you for your time and interest! illona
