I feel almost a bit silly posting here. Everyone else seem to be really serious collectors, with more stuff than I've got and more information about it. It's a real pleasure to read the forums and see others' collections, though.
I'm Jonas, and I collect, among other things: smoking pipes, lab glassware, old light bulbs, vintage and antique lighting fixtures, novelty lighting like motion lamps and lava lamps, electric door chimes, and all sorts of other stuff that strikes me. I didn't see any other posts mentioning these, so here's a photo of my collection of these unusual bulbs. I bought my first ones from a local science museum's gift shop in the late 1980s; they sold only round bulbs, either red or blue, and little cheaply-built plastic bases for them. In the late 90s, I got in contact with inventor Robert Kyp, who built every one of these by hand, and I got several old bulbs from him. By the late '00s, I had found few others of these, but when Kyp's nephew restarted production, I contacted him and bought a few more old bulbs. My display unit, shown below, was made from a two-tiered metal shelf unit, some black boards, and several junk sockets. It also displays some Aerolux glow lights and a number of Kyp radiometers.
For those who haven't seen these, the name "Balafire" is appropriate. A hand-made, extra-strong carbon filament flies around wildly inside the bulb as the field of the alternating current reacts with a magnet. Kyp always mounted the magnets on a post inside the bulb, standing in the center of the filament loop. If a bulb of this type has the magnet glued to the outside of the bulb, or mounted on a wire clip or metal ring, it's a knock-off. ABCO had knock-offs made, in tube and hurricane shapes among others. In the late 90s, a few were produced in China for Spencer Gifts; these did not function very well.
The Kyp models came, as far as I know, in the following types & forms: G25, G25 inside frosted, G30, G30 inside frosted, A19, A19 inside mirror, T bulb, F bulb (crinkled), possibly H bulb. There were six standard colors: red, (pale) amber, (dark) blue, (emerald) green, "cherry black" or "black cherry" (dark red-violet) and clear.
Top--
Upper left, G30 clear w/ small filament. Upper right, G30 "BAR" frosted, very rare.
Middle set, L to R, starting in front: T bulb green, outside magnet (ABCO knock-off), G25 blue, F bulb clear, H bulb (hurricane) Japan knock-off with ring-mounted adjustable magnet, G25 "black cherry" frosted rare, T bulb clear.
Bottom left, A18 amber inside-mirror. Bottom right, A19 blue. Bottom center: G25 amber inside-mirror "self-based" bulb, mounted on glass radiometer pedestal and hard-wired to a lamp cord!
Bottom, L to R, starting in front--
A19 Tulips pink, H19 flowers purple (overseas-made), T9 Scotty pink, A19 Crucifix pink, A19 Lamb Over Fence pink, T9 Elephant pink, H19 Love Heart & Flowers pink (1960s), A19 Bird of Paradise/Bird & Bouquet purple (1960s, marked IMS Corp.)
Radiometers--
Top row, L to R: Earth circular 2-vane w/ plastic base (new), Neon pink circular 2-vane, American Flag 2-vane, Neon green ring 2-vane.
Bottom row, L to R: White cube 4-vane, white cube 4-vane suspended on wire stand, white cube 4-vane.
I'm still missing, among others: red cube 4-vane, neon green cube 4-vane, Mickey Mouse walking 2-vane, Mickey Mouse running 2-vane, Sleeping Beauty fairies 3-vane, other colors of circular (incl. neon yellow, green) & ring (incl. red) 2-vanes, other colors of wire stand suspended models, white fighter plane 2-vane & 4-vane, white cube 4-vane half-mirror, and others.
My Christmas tree, with an 18-socket festoon c. 1916, carrying carbon filament lamps. All plain balloon-type are clear or colored glass, none painted. Figurals (oranges, berry, rose, pine cone) are painted clear or milk glass. I'd really love to get a handful more of the balloon-shape ones. A few Matchless Stars are displayed below.
A small display of Christmas bulbs, some working, many not.
Also: a few examples of my very small collection of old lighting fixtures. This is a 1908 electrolier found at a salvage shop. All-original except for wiring and glass; I rewired it and added a matched pair of period-proper etched shades. Has the original mica-insulated Fat Boy sockets and iron inner parts. It was this shiny when I got it; I don't know if it was restored, or just kept pretty (maybe packed away?) If it had been restored, I'd think the old, frayed wires would have been replaced. Burning two NALCO carbon-filament lamps c. 1920s, 2-candlepower 16-volt (running on a 24-volt transformer).
Vintage fluorescent, unsure about age but I assume 1950s. White plastic end caps with chrome bands must be removed to get at the starters. I don't know much about fluorescents yet, but would like to learn. I put standard metal can starters in it, but I wish it had the ones that glow. It takes two starters, one per tube, I assume that's normal. I just know that I like the more ornate, decorative fluorescents (I've drooled over a few with glass parts & chandelier crystals) and this is the fanciest I'll probably be able to afford.
Edit: One more item which might be of interest. This is a 1980s replica of a 1930s original. The originals were the LeVelle Fan-Lite, made by the Mid-West Chandelier Co. They made several models, from plain to fancy. Some guys in Texas had a Model no. 16 Fan-Lite in their parents' house, and they decided to have a high-quality copy produced in Taiwan. They went by Eagle Fan Corp. and called it the Grand Duchess, and went bankrupt pretty quickly. The stock was taken by a Texas shop which sold them thoughout the 1980s. Eagle had several finishes and glass colors available, but this one (polished brass, amber glass) matches the original Model 16. They got the details exactly right, including the crackled glass, the unusual "carrot" canopy and the fancy ceiling boss. When turned off, the Grand Duchess masquerades as nothing but an elegant Art Moderne slip-shade chandelier; switch on the fan, and four curved, black blades swing out, becoming a 36" fan which puts out a stiff breeze! This was a Craigslist find.
