I just found two Kliegl 1000w spotlights. From my research they are model No 5n and are the same style light that was used to film The Wizard of Oz on 1927. One is in excellent condition and only needs a bulb. The other has a cracked lens and also needs a bulb. Both lights pedestals are in great shape and function well. I have seen similar lights go on eBay for a few hundred dollars. Can anyone here give me an idea of what these may be worth.
Vintage Lighting 1926 Kliegl Bros 5n spotlight value?
- Thread starterTmorr83
- Start date
Les
Well-Known Member
The heads alone may be worth $40 or so. Less for the one with the cracked lens as those replacements are expensive. If someone is interested in the historical value, a cracked lens could be a deal breaker.
I've seen these go for a lot of money on eBay too. What really seems to skyrocket the price is the stands. Most of the people who buy those are ones who are going for the "Hollywood Look" in their home, home theatre, office... Of course, that person may also not care about a cracked lens (I've even seen sellers market it as a positive, which is ridiculous, but I digress "Authentic cracked lens is a testament to its long and well-used life... blah blah blah"), so it's really just a buyer's market in whatever they want to pay for it.
Post a picture if you can. If it's a very ornamental Kliegl, or the stands are especially well-made, it could be worth more. Decent single-fixture stands usually cost ~$125 alone, and that's used.
It seems like more people go for a more "art deco" fixture (ala Bardwell McAllister or Strand Patt 123 which fetch some money) and unfortunately the Kliegls are fairly utilitarian in design (at least the ones made in the '50s were -- 1920's - you might have something here. Oh, and lens size matters too if you could provide that. Sounds like you have something that can make some money though.
**Oh and watch for any fuzzy white wires. That's asbestos. You will want to safely remove that before the sale (search here for safe abatement methods). You can rewire it to current standards or retrofit a household socket (but I would keep it close to the original design so it can always "go back"). If it's all-original that's great, but wiring that old should be replaced at any rate. You could also sell it totally unwired so the end-user can put anything he/she wants in there (quartz, incandescent, LED, etc).
I've seen these go for a lot of money on eBay too. What really seems to skyrocket the price is the stands. Most of the people who buy those are ones who are going for the "Hollywood Look" in their home, home theatre, office... Of course, that person may also not care about a cracked lens (I've even seen sellers market it as a positive, which is ridiculous, but I digress "Authentic cracked lens is a testament to its long and well-used life... blah blah blah"), so it's really just a buyer's market in whatever they want to pay for it.
Post a picture if you can. If it's a very ornamental Kliegl, or the stands are especially well-made, it could be worth more. Decent single-fixture stands usually cost ~$125 alone, and that's used.
It seems like more people go for a more "art deco" fixture (ala Bardwell McAllister or Strand Patt 123 which fetch some money) and unfortunately the Kliegls are fairly utilitarian in design (at least the ones made in the '50s were -- 1920's - you might have something here. Oh, and lens size matters too if you could provide that. Sounds like you have something that can make some money though.
**Oh and watch for any fuzzy white wires. That's asbestos. You will want to safely remove that before the sale (search here for safe abatement methods). You can rewire it to current standards or retrofit a household socket (but I would keep it close to the original design so it can always "go back"). If it's all-original that's great, but wiring that old should be replaced at any rate. You could also sell it totally unwired so the end-user can put anything he/she wants in there (quartz, incandescent, LED, etc).
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The lens is a 5" lens. The stands are original single pole w/ a weighted base. The base is stamped Kliegl Bros. on one side and Universal Electrical on the other. The bulb required is a mogul base Mazda G48. I used alligator clips and a tester and the original asbestos wiring still works. They are also in their original black finish w/ light surface oxidation inside the box. I was able to find a picture of the lights in the 1926 Catalog. This is the model w/o a dimmer. Thanks again for the help.
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