The moonstone Majestic is an eye catching lamp that can draw attention in any setting. They were offered in green, rose, and white moonstone glass, and while they appear quite grand, the finish on the metal base of these Aladdin lamps is quite fragile. Very few of these lamps can be found with the original finish intact.
While sounding elegant, the "rose gold" and "silver" finishes were probably, in my opinion, neither genuine gold or silver. From what I have observed, I would tend to believe the "plating" on the base was actually an applied finish--similar to electrostatic paint, or powder coating, although not nearly as durable as either. Whatever it was, it was far too delicate to stand the test of time.
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As with the rose moonstone Majestic, the white moonstone lamp also had a "rose gold" plating on the metal foot, metal burner collar, oil filler cap, and the model-B burner. Only the green moonstone Majestic had the silver plated finish on its metal parts.
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The rose moonstone Majestic has the a "rose gold" finish on the metal foot, the oil fill cap, the burner collar, and the model-B burner itself.
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The metal foot on the green moonstone Majestic should be silver plated. The factory finish, however, did not hold up to the test of time very well, and most examples are found with the finish worn off. This particular example has a perfect silver finish, although I'm not really sure that the silver on it is truly original. It polishes up beautifully, but will begin to tarnish within a couple of months. I doubt a silver finish as good as this one was used on the original lamps. My thoughts are that it may have been re-plated with sterling silver, but at any rate it sure is pretty when it is polished up.
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The Aladdin Majestic lamps were created specifically to be used in conjunction with an Aladdin 16 inch "fluted" shade. That fact was stated in their 1935 sales brochure with such reverence as to state that the Majestic lamps should not be used with any other size or style of shade. The ad appears in J. W. Courter's book "Aladdin the Magic Name in Lamps" on page 244 of the revised edition. The fluted shades, however, were used on several other styles of lamps as well. The above shade is an original Aladdin Whip-o-Lite "fluted" shade. The shades have been reproduced, but the reproductions are easily identified simply by the materials used in their construction. Most of the reproduction shades are also signed on the inside of the shade.
