I want to caution anyone thinking of shipping one of Pairpoint's Large (12") Swans. This is the result of a very recent and sad experience. Although a Swan I shipped was packed extremely well (double-boxing, over-size box, bracing, etc), the postman at the point of delivery dropped the box as he tried to carry it on his shoulder. The sudden impact caused the Swan's head and neck to breakaway at the point of attachment to the bowl. Part of the bowl remained attached to the neck. It is my conclusion (from an engineering viewpoint) that the inertia during the fall combined with the length and heavy weight of the neck and head exposed the inherent weakness at the point where the heavy neck joined the much thinner bowl portion. Had the package fallen at a different angle, the outcome would likely have been different. Given the "perfect storm" nature of this event, I don't think any additional cushioning would have helped. Since we cannot control Murphy's Law, my advice is to avoid shipping the large swans if at all possible. I do not believe the smaller swans would be at risk due to the much lighter and shorter necks and heads.

Marion Frost
​March 14, 2020

For many years we have seen on eBay and other retail sources a variety of Pairpoint Lamp Shade replicas. If memory serves me, I recall during the 1990s, a dealer friend telling me that a large quantity of original un-decorated glass shades had been scavenged from the closed Pairpoint plant, and that they were being decorated in the after-market. It wasn't very difficult discerning the originals from the latter. Sellers have always been fairly open and honest when representing a lamp to be a "Pairpoint Puffy or Reverse-Painted Lamp."

Today, for the first time, I've noticed a replica base being offered for sale. In all fairness, the base was offered as a "Pairpoint-style" lamp base, and I am not claiming anything nefarious at all. The Seller offers full disclosure that the base is made in Taiwan by the Odyssey Lamp Company. With all candor, I think the workmanship is good and the appearance is true to the original designs.

Now for my reason for writing...we all know that as time passes, and new collectors come to the market, attribution can get fuzzy. There are those that eventually decide to take some liberties with the facts. I merely want to alert our visitors to our observations. With regard to Pairpoint Lamp authentication, every lamp base I've seen has been clearly signed (by casting or incision) under the foot. The Mahogany wood bases have their catalog numbers incised into the washer-nut that holds the lamp together. This is just a reminder to those collectors, who may be new to this collecting area, to be careful. As the old saying goes, "Caveat Emptor."

Marion Frost
​March 7, 2020