Gather round, goo-heads, for Lava Lite storytime!

[Jonas Clark-Elliott]

Trust me: if you're nuts about lamps so rare, no model name is known, THIS IS YOUR THREAD!

Today's story: What do a trip to Lava World in 1998 and a weird-looking lamp have in common?

The time: summer, 1998. The place: Chicago, Illinois. The protagonist: Me.

I visited Lava World. I may have told about this before, but for those who haven't heard, this was what Lava World was like c. late-90s. Walking into the plain building's lobby, one saw a door on the left (offices), a staircase going straight ahead and up (offices) and, to the right of the stairs, a secretary's counter with a Magma Time clock on it. The secretary was answering phones non-stop. To the right was a sitting area, and a low shelf along the far right wall loaded with about 40 working Lava Lites, all new, with the newest colors down front. (I bought a red/blue!) Through double doors at the back, you could occasionally catch glimpses of a warehouse-like space, with forklifts carrying stacks of pallets full of Midnight bases.

They were VERY busy - so busy, in fact, that I had to make an appointment and return a few hours later - though that let me go on a lava hunt (hello, Coachlite!) When I returned, they pulled out all the old catalogs they had. They didn't have much; I was told that, whenever an exec retired, they'd take something with them. Among what they had, though, were three issues of the Lava Liter, which was an in-company newsletter begun in 1966 when 14 new models joined the one original Lava Lite. "We're sitting on top of the world!" touted the headline, beside which sat a cartoony man in an office chair atop a globe. The header even showed a b/w line drawing of a Century along with two more 52-oz lamps in oddball bases - prototypes, maybe? One had a base that had a rocket booster-like faceted design; the other was a wide bowl or tray speckled with maple leaves. Nifty stuff! They made photocopies for me, but they were very, very dark.

That leads to today: Thanks to Deb for the link. Has anybody seen this? Wondered if it's homemade? Either way, it's cool, no?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/350788411727?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_...

...well, wonder no more, and pull out your pocketbooks. The 52-oz pictured in the header of the Lava Liter, issue 1, 1966, which I've described as resembling a rocket booster? Never, EVER pictured in any known catalog? It certainly isn't in the 1965 leaflet, and it isn't among the 14 new models of 1966! Yeah? Yeah. You're lookin' at it. Ceramic. Yes, ceramic.

To whoever gets this, I bow to your awesomeness. And please ask the seller where/how they got it. You think the Executive is rare? This is as rare as a Menorah Prayer Lite or a Blues Magoos Psyche-De-Lite: "rare" doesn't begin to describe it!

Photo added by Erin:

[Jonas Clark-Elliott]

I usually won't post links to active auctions for those reasons. In this case, though, I hope to be forgiven for making an exception. And this absolutely isn't homemade - it's either a prototype, or a very short-lived late-1965 production model.

Sorry about that, Deb. But I guarantee it was going to go up, up, up, story or no story. I do kind of hope the guys with HUGE wallets step back and let another collector have a chance.

[Kirk]

I second that. Except the part about being a junior in high school... :>)

Brad said:

1998 was a good year for lava.  i was a junior in hs and had 3-4 lamps in my room.  thanks for the story, jonas.  you definitely have a TON of knowledge concerning lava lamps.  it is nice to have you here.

[Autumn]

When I first saw it I thought it was a pot someone glued to an old lamp base. Guess not. Kinda ugly honestly. Neat story though.

[Erin]

True, there is no official rule about posting auctions/items for sale on websites. Many of us avoid this because we're trying to hoard this lamp all to ourselves and hope it passes by the eyes of others who might not have given it a 2nd thought (or have horribly deep pockets we cannot compete against). Nothing wrong with that. :) It's how I got my Commander. I, too, wrote Jonas about it, and he confirmed the lamp's identity. Since it looks so similar to a Mightnight Aristocrat, and it's also a pretty boring lamp, I was able to snag it for cheap. 

No one did anything wrong here. :) It's a neat lamp and it's cool to know the back story on it. But yeah, many of us would have wanted to hear that story AFTER the auction so maybe it'd have less popularity and one of us could get it! :)

[Erin]

I can almost guarantee that will not happen. One of the first bidders on this lamp has an endless supply of cash and if he's already placed a bid, you can bet he'll end up with this lamp. I see it happen every week, as I watch a lot of lamps come and go on eBay. 

Jonas Clark-Elliott said:

I do kind of hope the guys with HUGE wallets step back and let another collector have a chance.

[Keith]

The only thing with this lamp is that 99 and 44/100's of the most knowledgeable lava collectors on the planet would have no idea this was an original LL concept, therefore not generating real interest.  Funny thing is, is that deepens the dilemma of whether or not posting about it is a good thing.  I personally have no problem with these type of posts, but then again I haven't bought any lamps off of ebay, lol.

Erin said:

True, there is no official rule about posting auctions/items for sale on websites. Many of us avoid this because we're trying to hoard this lamp all to ourselves and hope it passes by the eyes of others who might not have given it a 2nd thought (or have horribly deep pockets we cannot compete against). Nothing wrong with that. :) It's how I got my Commander. I, too, wrote Jonas about it, and he confirmed the lamp's identity. Since it looks so similar to a Mightnight Aristocrat, and it's also a pretty boring lamp, I was able to snag it for cheap. 

No one did anything wrong here. :) It's a neat lamp and it's cool to know the back story on it. But yeah, many of us would have wanted to hear that story AFTER the auction so maybe it'd have less popularity and one of us could get it! :)

[Keith]

XANADU!  Lets get out skates out!!

Critter said:

I'm with you on this one Deb.  I saw this ebay post as soon as it went up on ebay and thought it was a cool custom lamp (still could be IMHO).  I emailed the seller asking if it was custom or homemade and for more info.  I got no answer to that question.  Never-the-less I didn't run straight here and post a link.  I think the story Jonas told was quite fun but maybe it could have waited until after the auction ended.

I also agree with Autumn it is kinda ugly....but I still kinda like it too.  Sorta like having a favorite movie that YOU KNOW is bad but still like it anyway (Xanadu anyone?).  It has just enough of that tacky kitschyness to it to make it kinda retro cool.  It would be wicked if it was a mid-sixties green or orange/red lava type glaze that was so popular then.

Deb said:

For the record...I was watching this lamp on eBay. I didn't recognize it but had a hunch it was special. I went to Jonas because I knew he would be able to ID it for me. I should have been honest and told him I wanted to keep it hush hush in hopes it would be overlooked as some strange off the wall lamp and be able to score it for low $$. (Does that make me bad?) But then I felt guilty and he was so excited to post the link and tell the back story on it.

For future reference...Mods here told me in the past it's an "unwritten law" that eBay links on active sales shouldn't be posted here to prevent bidding wars between OG members. Or in this case to benefit the seller.

[Dr. WHAT?!]

Couple interesting things I noticed about this lamp.

1. how did they get that ceramic piece on there? a possible 2 piece century base? anyone know what year(s) they made those?

2. The seller is from IL, most likely someone who used to work there or had family that did? Most prototypes went home with employees I would assume.

3. Anyone else think this looks like a women's skirt? lol

[Erin]

Well NOW I do. 

Dr. WHAT?! said:

3. Anyone else think this looks like a women's skirt? lol

[Keith]

The more I look at it, I don't think I like the look so much.But it does look better than my lava phone.  hehe  

[Jonas Clark-Elliott]

Yes, that's one of the two-piece Century bases; the upper cone and the cylinder to which it's attached are inserted into the ceramic shell. Then it has the footed plastic Century tray beneath.

[Erin]

Oh weird, so there's a regular Century base underneath that?