Lamp shades are an integral part of modern home decoration, having sprung up in the late 18th century and undergoing several revolutions since. In recent times, the antique business has seen explosive growth due largely to the rise of sites like eBay.com, oldandsold.com and iGavel.com. These sites allow anyone to set up shop for buyers to view wares, bid and purchase from the comfort of their home. Together, these facts suggest that purchasing antique lamp shades can be a sound investment for not only one’s home but also one’s finances.

Unlike many other kinds of furniture, buying a valuable antique lamp shade may accrue returns over time as the antique ages. The two best examples are the Victorian gas shades that have been popular since the early 1800s, as well as the stained glass shades made by the Tiffany design company. An understanding of these and other styles will help one pick out the best investment that is also most compatible with one’s existing home decor.

Victorian style shades can be traced back to the late 1700s when gas was first harnessed for its ability to power a light source steadily and continuously. Simultaneously across Europe (England, France and Germany) several inventors came up with designs and prototypes that featured working gas lights. Quickly following they were incorporated into street, factory and home lighting. The gas shade style was characterized by a dome structure enclosing the flame and a venting hole or cylindrical structure to release heat and errant gases.

When real flames were lit in glass shades for lighting, a popular style was the chimney shade. The chimney shade also gave way to the hurricane shade. in both, there is a clear, thin and tall glass enclosure which helped feed air to the burning process and also kept out drafts.

Spheres and globes were not the only shapes available. Other styles included the cylinder or hurricane styles, both of which were more elongated than the globe. Various designs could be etched onto the outer surface. The glass could also be colored to achieve subtle aesthetic variations. These aspects of glass making could be traced back hundreds or even thousands of years to the first people who worked with making ornate and decorative glass goblets, cups, and church-style stained glass windows.

The Tiffany-style stained glass shades were a big hit in the early 1900s. Louis Comfort Tiffany was said to be inspired by the technology of stained glass windows, found in churches and composed of colored glass and iron rods that depicted scenes from nature such as animals and trees. Tiffany created many glass lamp shades that showed such natural scenes.

Tiffany produced a large number of well-received designs. As a result a large number of manufacturers started producing imitations that have become known as “Tiffany-style” shades. Of course, the copies were not of the same quality and lack authenticity, nor do they hold value as well as the real ones. An investor should learn the ins and outs of authentic glass shades, understanding the signs that mark them as original.

The artistic value is of such depth in antique glass lamp shades that one may center home decor entirely around the distinctive piece. The only caveat being that antique shades may be difficult or quite expensive to obtain. The upside to keep in mind is that there continues to be a healthy market for beautiful, distinctive shades, especially if they are branded like the Tiffany shades. Purchasing an antique shade now may mean gaining in the long run as the antique appreciates in value over time.

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