Who is Paul Hanson?

Lately, I have found some fantastic mid-century modern lamps by the maker Paul Hanson. I love the contemporary lines, the intricate details, and the monumetality of the size. But, who is he? What is the story of these lamps?

The Paul Hanson Lighting Company began in the 1920's and as a collectible today as then. Their appeal lies in the quality of the materials- porcelains, high quality wood, marble, bronze and brasses. They were created using molds as well as cast metal in a lost wax process. This process is based on carving a form from wax and burying the wax form in sand. Then the bronze, or other metal, is then poured into the sand and the wax is burnt away with the metal filling the void left, thus making the casting. It is an expensive process reserved for art pieces.

The most collectible of  Paul Hanson lamps are from the Hollywood Regency style and the Chinoiserie styles from the 1940's through 1960's. The style hallmarks include detailed pierced work, Mid-century modern geometric lines, and more traditional styles of retro-fitted porcelain vessel shapes with Asian inspired painting and classical lines in glass or brass.

Some of the marks of Paul Hanson include:

Paul Hanson sticker on the lamp base- image from 1st dibs


PH button on the lamp base- image from 1st dibs.



Paul Hanson mark on the base of a double dolphin lamp.- image from 1st dibs

Fantastic lamp forms include:

Square forms with pierce work, or lattice-

Above image from personal collection



Image from EBAY- pair of Chinoiserie lamp bases

The orb and spacer-


From EBAY- Stainless steel and Brass lamp base



From 1stdibs.com- clear cracked glass with brass spacers lamp base


From 1stdibs.com- Pottery Ball and brass spacer lamp base

... then I used the incantation, "scourgify"!

Finding great objects, accessories, and furnishings at an estate sale satifies the thrill of the chase, but it is not the end of the story. It would be great to be able to "pick" a sales then immediately put it back out for sale with a small finders fee. However, many times...well, most of the time... 95% of the time, really... you have add a heaping helping of elbow grease and some cleaning know-how. 

Take the lovely Paul Hanson Lamp with the oh-so-stylish lattice-work base. Pretty, stylish, and a TOTAL sticky dirt magnet. Every top edge of the lattice edge was filled with sticky dirt, as in not vacuum-able, not to mention the crevices of the base and the edges.

So, since this is glazed white ceramic, it is basically glass... for cleaning purposes, or course. So, with a light weight glass cleaner- with no dyes- and many cotton swabs, I went to town on every edge, crevice, and flat plane with Mrs. Meyers window cleaner in lavender... be case lavender is my fave small. Always choose un-dyed cleaners. If there are light cracks or crazing in the glazing, the dyes can deposit in the crazing and draw attention to the cracks.

My before and afters are below.

"the funk of forty thousand years..."

And then I used the incantation, "scourgify" with my magic cotton swab wand.

It is always best to start with the least of the cleaners and more work on your part, than a harsh cleaner with light work on your part. You want to clean, but not damage. And remember, some patinas are important to not only the value but aesthetic of the piece. When in doubt, do a little research by searching on Ebay, Etsy, and Pinterest for what you are debating to see what the current trend is.