selling off

Pittsburgh is not overly large, nor does it particularly care about it's history.  And its people, by and large, are not super enamoured with antiques.  While these things sadden me, they also make it possible for me to obtain lots of stuff that I couldn't otherwise afford.  Some of this stuff, as it turns out, I don't need.  And although it's fun for me to take them out of their packing and pet them sometimes, I'd much rather they be used and appreciated.  To that end, when we head to NYC this week to see the Dresden Dolls (tickets to which were my mother's day present) I'm planning on bringing some of my lighting to sell.  I desperately need money for the porch, so this must happen.

Off to the big city is a pair of Tudor Revival 5 light chandeliers, with their original bronze and iron finish.

And sure, while those are pretty spiffy they can't hold a candle to my set of 15 aluminum Art Deco slip shade fixtures.  

The coolest pull chain switch ever, just fyi...

And yes, by set I mean a matched set, including one 5 light chandelier, 3 two light drop fixtures, 3 two light flush mount fixtures and 8 single shade sconces (obviously, I have all the shades as well, but they are meticulously wrapped and stashed away).  The pictures clearly don't do them justice, but this isn't ebay is it?

I'm not in the habit of using this blog as a platform for selling, but I post these here because I KNOW no salvage yard will give a hoot about keeping the set together.  But, it's important to me.  So, if any of you dear readers feel that you must have either set, do let me know.  Obviously, rewiring and some paint stripping will be required...  And don't forget, the deco fixtures are famous, as they're the ones that were rented for The Last Witchhunter (I'll ask them to keep their egos in check).  And if you know of any other contractors that buy a house just for its huge garage and can't get rid of its pink fixtures fast enough, send them my way.

Driehaus Museum

In clearing out my desktop (it's too miserable here to be doing much of anything else), I realized I never posted the last of the photos from last years Chicago trip.  What should be the most beautiful of the posts is somewhat lacking.  Lets just blame the combination of crowds, dim lighting and stained glass.  It's fairly easy to find excellent overall photos of the sumptuous interiors of the Driehaus Museum, but here are some details of interest (tile, Tiffany and delicious floors especially).  And a tip; make sure you sneak into the opposite sex bathrooms, the woodwork and tile in each is exquisite, and not worth missing just because you have the wrong sex bits.

So, as usual, in no particular order...