Friday, April 22, 2016

Tramp Lamp

"Tramp Art" (a term I suppose isn't quite as offensive as "Bum Bling") dates back to the late 1870's. It's decidedly low brow in the art world, but can be quite beautiful.  It refers to art or even everyday objects that were created by the common man (and woman) using salvaged pieces of wood including anything from popsicle sticks to cigar boxes, fruit crates and wooden spools.

I found this Tramp art lamp at an estate sale during my lunch hour today.


While it's clearly hand done, the precison is pretty impressive.


 Each piece is hand-carved, slotted and fitted together.  I can't imagine how long it took to make.



There are two drawers in the base.  The lamp switch is on the front right of the base.

 It measures 14" x 6" x 8.5" tall.




The roof is removable to provide access to the bulb.


Not to be confused with "Trench art" which was made by soliders and sailors from spent shell casings, "Tramp" art is really a misnomer.  It was coined in the 1950's to categorize this type of folk art, but the majority of pieces were made by average people with an above average talent for woodworking and whittling.

2 comments:

  1. Holy cow! That thing is absolutely gorgeous. You can tell that it has a "soul," that someone cared about it. Does it still work? If it doesn't, I can't imagine it would be hard to replace the cord, etc. Nice find. Now you need to find a respectable spot for it.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks, Chris. Yes, it still works. It could probably stand to be rewired, but I don't see anything wrong with the light recepticle or switch, so those could be reused.

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