These lusters are on eBay at the lowest price I’ve seen yet for the Charleton Lusters.. They are like the pair on Lucy Ricardo’s piano but painted differently.
Charleton Mantel Lusters on eBay
Category Archives: Charleton Mantel Lusters
Mantel Lustre with Desilu Tag offered at auction.
Hollywood Auction 89 – Day 2 offered by Profiles in History
Tuesday, June 27, 2017 | 11:00AM GMT-07:00
Calabasas, California, USA
LOT 946
Seller’s Estimate: USD 2,000 – 3,000
“946. I Love Lucy Charleton mantel luster with original Desilu property tag. (DesiLu, 1951-1957) Vintage original Charleton brand mantle luster from the I Love Lucy set. Consisting of a 13.5 in. tall by 7 in. wide standing ceramic luster with pale green, silver and gold oxide glazes and ornamented with delicate hand painted pink roses. Featuring 8-elongated teardrop and hexagonal faceted prisms, which dangle from the bottom of the uppermost fluted bowl of the luster. Retaining the vintage original round tag printed, “Desilu Prod. Property Dept.”. This was one of a pair of lusters highly visible atop Lucy and Ricky Ricardo’s piano and credenza in their New York apartment set practically from the beginning of the series (1951) until the couple moved to the country (1957). Originally acquired from Desi Arnaz’s long time assistant, Johnny Aitchison, and comes with a letter of provenance. A 4 in. segment of the top ceramic bowl has been broken and reassembled by the studio. In vintage very good condition.”
Related posts: http://www.50slucy.com/category/charleton-mantel-lusters
Mantel Lusters similar to Lucy’s
This week on eBay I see a pair of Charleton Mantel Lusters by the same company that made the pair on the I Love Lucy show. They are painted differently but are the same shape as the set on the show. I would add some teardrop prisms to them to be more like the originals instead of the small prisms.
Mantel Lusters on eBay currently
Seen on eBay this week a pair of vintage Charleton mantel lusters similar to those seen on the piano on I Love Lucy – the shape and make is the same but the painting style and prisms are not an exact match however the design is similar.
More details on eBay at http://www.ebay.com/itm/2-I-LOVE-LUCY-SHOW-ANTIQUE-MANTLE-LUSTERS-LUSTRES-CANDLE-LAMPS-SPEAR-PRISMS-/391474858951
Charleton Mantel Lusters
Seen on eBay this week – Charleton Mantel Lusters by the company that made the pair on I Love Lucy.
Lucy’s mantel lustres were painted differently but these are the same shape.
See them on eBay HERE
Mantel Lusters on eBay this week
On eBay this week are mantel lusters similar to the I Love Lucy lustres that are usually seen on top of the piano.
These are the same shape but painted differently. The seller has listed the two lustres separately:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Antique-Majolica-Mantle-Luster-With-Large-Tear-Drop-Glass-Prisms-2-/231562341440
and
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Antique-Majolica-Mantle-Luster-With-Large-Tear-Drop-Glass-Prisms-1-/231562341356
See this post for more on the original ones.
Charleton Mantel Lusters
This is a pair of Charleton porcelain mantel lustres on eBay this week made by the same company that made the pair on I Love Lucy. The shape is identical except for the hanging crystals but the decoration is different.
The pair on I Love Lucy had the pink roses but were painted a pea green color and the oval shapes had a mirrored finish. I found a similar white pair to the ones pictured above so I got porcelain paint and mirrored foil to repaint them in the style of the I Love Lucy pair. I have been putting off the task but one of these days I will get started and post my progress on the blog.
See previous post about the original pair of lusters on I Love Lucy
We Love Lucy’s Charleton Mantel Lusters
Peter writes :
The pair of mantle lusters or lustres are found on top of the piano. As you know they are seen practically from the beginning and up until the Ricardos move to the country. I actually was able to purchase a set identical to the ones used on the show, so I’m selling the other set I have. The only difference is the color. Here’s the listing: http://www.ebay.com/itm/161471370240
The ones on the show were a green color with silver painted ovals on the crown and base. Attached is a photo of what the real ones looked like. Also, one of them has a sticker on the inside that says Charleton.
What little research I’ve done on these is that they were often found in homes of high society. Almost like a status symbol, which is interesting because they made it appear as though the Ricardo’s were just average Joes. Of course some lusters are way more extravagant, whereas these are fairly plain. They are often referred to as “mantle lusters” because they can usually be found on top of the fireplace mantle to reflect the light from the hanging crystals.”
Thanks again to Peter for sharing a great find with us.
The Charleton line of decorated ceramics was produced by Abels, Wasserberg & Co. (AWCO) from the 1940’s. They
purchased undecorated items (blanks), from various glass and ceramic manufacturers and employed a team of decorators who hand decorated the pieces with designs of flowers, fruit,
landscapes, and other patterns and also decorated china and glass items for Fenton and other lines. To identify the Charleton range, an embossed label when present indicates “Charleton Hand Decorated” plus a hand written serial/stock number, and in print the letters AWCO as seen in the example pictured above.
A photo from an exhibit you can see to the right a glimpse of a mantel luster prop like the one on “I Love Lucy” but with shorter crystals.
Update: The luster in the picture from Flickr is an actual original prop from “I Love Lucy” per comment below.
Click Here for Mantel Lusters currently available on eBay
Reference:
- http://www.glasshousenc.com/ Charleton line from Abels, Wasserberg & Co. (AWCO)
- Peter’s eBay listing: http://www.ebay.com/itm/161471370240