Antiques & Collecting: Optical devices

English inventor Charles John Roswell patented the first graphoscope in 1864. The graphoscope, a device to enhance viewings of photographs and other still images, consists of a round magnifying glass attached to an adjustable stand.

Later models, like the one pictured here, included a stereoscope to view stereocards that create a 3-D illusion. Collectors call these models stereo-graphoscopes.

This one, which sold for $366 at Austin Auction Gallery, was made by the London firm Negretti and Zambra.

Established in 1850, the company started as a partnership between Joseph Zambra, a barometer maker and optician, and Henry Negretti, a thermometer maker and glassblower.

Their earliest products, meteorological instruments, were of such high quality that they were appointed opticians to Queen Victoria in 1851.

They soon opened a photography studio and, in 1854, became official photographers for the Crystal Palace Company.

They were making stereographs by then, and they commissioned overseas expeditions for material for stereoviews. This graphoscope model, available in walnut and mahogany, was made in the 1880s.

My grandmother had a lamp that sat on her TV set in 1959, possibly earlier. It is clear Lucite with two swans facing each other and flowers around them. The base is wood. It is lit with two Christmas tree bulbs. There is an obvious error — the swans are pink like flamingos instead of white or black. Overall, it is 11 1/2 inches tall, 12 1/2 inches wide, and 3 1/2 inches deep. Can you give me any information about it?

TV lamps were popular in the 1950s. There was a belief that having a dim, indirect light on while watching television prevented eye strain.

Because they did not need to cast a lot of light, TV lamps were usually made in decorative styles. The most popular were ceramic figures; many midcentury pottery and lamp companies made them.

Many companies made Lucite lamps like your grandmother’s. Bases were made of various materials, including wood, iron, and plastic.

Lucite was first made in the 1930s and was used for furniture and decorative arts after World War II. Some Lucite pieces had figures carved, painted, or embedded into the clear plastic, like your grandmother’s lamp.

Birds, fish, and scattered flowers were favorite subjects; they appeared to float. We have seen ceramic TV lamps with swans in fanciful colors like pink, green, or blue. Lamps like yours sell for about $75.

Tip: Nineteenth-century photographs are more easily damaged than pictures from later years. Color photos of any date often fade. Keep all photographs away from intense light.

Current Prices

Celadon, bowl, turned-in rim, horizontal bands of motifs, tapered base, Korea, 6-by-8 inches, $110.

Toy, train, ride-on, Special Western Flyer, red, pressed steel, Steelcraft, 1930s, 24 inches, $190.

Bottle, Zanesville, bulbous base, 24 swirl ribs, applied lip, golden amber, c. 1820, 9 inches, $1,750.