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60 °F Forecast | Road Cams Tuesday, March 15, 2005 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Health Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Real Estate Guide Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley SHOP OUR VALLEY AutoFinder HomeFinder JobFinder Classified Place an ad TOP JOBS EXTRA Ashland News NIE Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People Volunteer Moving here? eSouthernOregon CUSTOMER SERVICE FAQ's Advertise with us Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend January 17, 2005 Jim Carper, of Talent, is auctioning off a huge chunk of his lantern collection, which he�s amassed since he was a teen. Mail Tribune / Bob Pennell Lights of his life Talent man loves his lamp collection, but plans to sell 950 of his kerosene ones at auction By MEG LANDERS Mail Tribune When it comes to collectors, you can’t hold a candle to this guy. Jim Carper has a thousand kerosene lamps from all over the United States and Britain — and he’s auctioning about 950 of them in a few days. "That doesn’t include the 60 or 80 or 100 I’m going to keep," said Carper, 60, of Talent. He wants to simplify. After 46 years of collecting, Carper will be selling most of his kerosene lamps at a weekend auction in Medford. The auctioneer is Wayne Liska of Grants Pass. Kerosene lamps replaced the popular whale oil lamp in the 1850s. Carper’s collection includes a pair of circa 1890 satin owl lamps, a circa 1870 Queen Victoria figure lamp as well as circa 1850 whale oil lamps. There are lamps with iron bases, lamps with country scene motifs, and amber and alabaster lamps. Advertisement "When he first told me about this, I said, ‘You’re kidding,’ " said Liska. "Nobody in the world has ever had a lamp auction of this magnitude." The hobby began during Carper’s youth in Baker City. "When I grew up I was one of those children who didn’t know what to do with myself," he said. When he was 13 he told his mother he wanted to collect kerosene lamps, and her response was that he shouldn’t. "She didn’t say, ‘Can’t’," he said. "So just before Christmas in December 1957, one of the neighbors brought over two. That started my collection." He figures one pair in particular will draw some interest. They’re from the political convention of 1887-88, he said: One figure is an elephant and one is a donkey. Most of the lamps range in value between $100 and $1,000, said Liska, although with all the calls that have been coming in from around the country, he imagines there could be some competition. Liska said he was going over some paperwork with Carper when a man called the office from Kentucky with questions about a specific lamp, so he handed the phone over to Carper. He said Carper’s knowledge of the details of one particular lamp amazed him. "He remembers every lamp like you remember the names of your kids," he said. Additionally, he said Carper has taken excellent care of the lamps, and they don’t have "flea bites" — or chips in the glass. Liska, who does about 100 auctions a year, said it’s unusual to see such a large collection of one thing. But he did recently look at one man’s collection of 2,000 guns in Portland. Jim’s wife, Judy Carper, 60, said she’s relieved to be getting the collection out of the house and garage. "It’s gonna leave a lot of room," she said. She said when she met her husband in the early 1960s, she didn’t have an opinion about kerosene lamps one way or the other, but her fondness grew as his collection did. "They make a room feel kinda homey," she said. Jim Carper said that’s what he likes about them, the type of light produced by a flame. "It’s a soft, warm-type color," he said, adding that fluorescent lights make him feel like he’s in a dentist’s office. This week Jim Carper is cleaning and boxing up all his lamps, quite a chore in itself, before the preview scheduled for Friday. "It would be easier to be committed to the insane asylum than do all this stuff," he said. He’s not the only one who collects — a portion of one room is taken up with a large pile of his wife’s stuffed animals. "I’ve got a lot of Teddy bears. I’ve thought about taking some of them for the police department," she said, adding that the police often give stuffed animals to children who have undergone a trauma. The Carpers plan to pay off some bills and finish some home remodeling with the auction’s proceeds. And Jim Carper’s wife’s sentiments are true on a couple levels. "She’ll be delighted when it’s done," he said. Reach reporter Meg Landers at 776-4481 or e-mail [email protected] To attend the auction WHAT: Kerosene Lamp Auction, Liska and Associates Auctioneers WHEN: 9 a.m. Jan. 22-23 WHERE: Reston Hotel, corner of Biddle Road and Highway 62, Medford. PREVIEW: Friday 1-5 p.m. Live online bidding is also available. For more information, go to www.liska-auctioneers.com on the Web or call Liska and Associates at 541-471-0916. Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback Student Loan Consolidation Conference Calls - $50/Month Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker, Trunk, Footlockers home equity loans helzberg Slippers Student Loans afsa teleconferencing Memory Foam Mattress Advertisement s