antique oil lamps: the aladdin simplicity series of kerosene lamps

1948-1953
The Aladdin Simplicity lamps, although colorful, have quite fragile finishes. Starting on the left in the picture, the first lamp is known as a "decalcomania or Decalcomania". The flowers you see on the fount are simply a decal and the top of the foot is accented with a gold band (paint). The decalcomania, as well as the "Alacite" Simplicity next to it, are manufactured of a special glass first made by Aladdin in 1938. This Alacite glass was advertised as an "ivory opal glass" and became quite popular in this era. The other four lamps in the picture have painted finishes, which were applied to the outside of the glass lamps. As the name implies, the design was quite simple but effective. Care must be taken in cleaning these Aladdin lamps since the paint can be easily damaged with harsh cleansers. If the paint has absorbed to much dirt and grime over the years the odds of restoring it with cleaning are very slim. The paint Aladdin used on these lamps seems to have quite a variance in shades--especially on the green and rose colored lamps. They can run from almost pastel to quite dark, with the darker lamps being the more desirable. Scratches can also be a problem with the painted finishes and detract from desirability. Luckily due to the rounded surfaces on these lamps they are not easily chipped, so while the paint may not be in the best of shape, the lamps themselves usually are!
Decalcomania B-26	gold lustre B-27	Alacite B-76a
rose B-28	green B-29	white B-30
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1948-1953

simplicity.JPG (27709 bytes)

The Aladdin Simplicity lamps, although colorful, have quite fragile finishes. Starting on the left in the picture, the first lamp is known as a "decalcomania or Decalcomania". The flowers you see on the fount are simply a decal and the top of the foot is accented with a gold band (paint). The decalcomania, as well as the "Alacite" Simplicity next to it, are manufactured of a special glass first made by Aladdin in 1938. This Alacite glass was advertised as an "ivory opal glass" and became quite popular in this era. The other four lamps in the picture have painted finishes, which were applied to the outside of the glass lamps. As the name implies, the design was quite simple but effective.

Care must be taken in cleaning these Aladdin lamps since the paint can be easily damaged with harsh cleansers. If the paint has absorbed to much dirt and grime over the years the odds of restoring it with cleaning are very slim. The paint Aladdin used on these lamps seems to have quite a variance in shades--especially on the green and rose colored lamps. They can run from almost pastel to quite dark, with the darker lamps being the more desirable. Scratches can also be a problem with the painted finishes and detract from desirability. Luckily due to the rounded surfaces on these lamps they are not easily chipped, so while the paint may not be in the best of shape, the lamps themselves usually are!

simplicitydc1.jpg (14051 bytes)