Beth Shaut of the Carder Steuben Glass Shop in Corning answers the question about whether Steuben lamps had marble bases.

Yes, I believe several of the lamp companies of that time period use marble with their other mountings. We have had several over the years here at the shop. We had a beautiful Yellow Jade with an onyx marble with silver-plate metal ware

Keith Tripi of Grand Island, New York responds

Stuck Stoppers

I have a pair of perfume bottles with stuck stoppers (I bought them that way – I didn’t do it). Gently twisting and pulling hasn’t worked to release the stoppers nor has a few drops of water loosened them. I’ve been told I can apply heat to the neck of the bottles (probably with a warm, wet cloth compress since my kitchen crème Brule blow torch seems a bit extreme) and the heat will expand the neck and the stoppers will come out. With that method it seems difficult to gauge the amount of heat the bottle will tolerate without cracking. Before I reach for the pliers or WD-40, does anyone have any other suggestions?

Regarding stuck stoppers, the aromatic oils used in perfume are miscible in alcohol, therefore soak the perfume bottle in a pint of isopropyl alcohol purchased at your supermarket or drugstore. Look for the 90% (180 proof, if you’re into that sort of thing) rather than the wimpier 70% alcohol content. The best embodiment would be to fill a sturdy plastic cup with the alcohol and invert the perfume stopper head-first into the container so the neck of the bottle is covered. The alcohol tends to readily seep through small opening, and will start to make its way between the bottle and stopper. After it has soaked a little while, you can GENTLY (emphasis added) tap the neck area of the bottle with a wooden pencil to create a small vibration that may allow more alcohol to penetrate between neck and stopper. Eventually they do separate, sometimes very rapidly.

Marble Lamp Bases

I was asked today if Steuben ever made table or boudoir lamps with marble bases.

This is a trick question. The answer is generically “No” because other than things like luminors, Steuben was not in the lighting business. Did companies who bought Steuben shades, lamp shafts, and vases for use as lamp bodies mount their hardware on stone? Yes. Was it marble? Depends. Onyx was most definitely used by Crest. I have seen figured black stone with white or colored veining used on torchiere bases, but whether or not that was geologically speaking “marble” (which is baked calcite rock) is best left to a geologist.

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