Shoutout to the guy at the St. Louis flea market who pointed out my 'vintage' lamp was a reproduction

He showed me the underside stamp didn't have the right patina for a 1940s piece, and now I double-check all metal markings before I buy.

3 comments

3 Comments

claire_butler12mo ago

Oh man, that lamp story reminds me of the time I bought a "handwoven" rug from a guy at a roadside stand in Tennessee. I got it home and realized the pattern was literally printed on with some kind of rubber stamp after I scrubbed a corner trying to get a stain out. Now I always run my hand over the surface and look for loose threads before I hand over any cash.

bettywilson2mo ago

Yeah, that rubber stamp trick got me too once on a "handmade" scarf.

fisher.charlie24d ago

Five bucks says most of those "handwoven" rugs are actually made in a factory overseas and just get sold by some dude with a truck. I'm not saying yours definitely is, but I've seen the same "tribal" patterns at flea markets in three different states with the exact same rubber stamp bleed-through on the back. The real handwoven ones from actual weavers usually have slight unevenness in the rows and the fringe will vary a little. If it looks too perfect and the price is too good, it's probably a machine job with a story attached to it lol.