Antique light bulb collectors: A brilliant obsession

Chad Shapiro will go to any length to obtain original examples of artificial lighting, including those created by Thomas Edison in the late 19th century. But as correspondent David Pogue discovers, Shapiro is not alone in an obsession to collect rare and beautiful examples of vintage light bulbs.
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[@tracytrebilcox]

I love these old light bulbs. They're such a work of art, and irreplaceable.

[@TastyBusiness]

I respect this level of dedication to the history of engineering.

[@larryboysen5911]

As a collector myself, people such as this guy, keeps history alive!

[@photonik-luminescence]

Feel the same

[@MrPleers]

What do you collect ? Just out of curiosity. (I collect vintage safety razors myself.)

[@larryboysen5911]

@@MrPleers Well...let's see: Vintage radios, Victrolas, 78 records to play on them, frog figurines, Lionel Trains, and other vintage toys. Your collection is unique to me, I have known a couple of fountain pen collectors, but not safety razors. Speaking of things shaving...knew a fellow who was into electric shavers.

[@MrPleers]

@@larryboysen5911 Thanks. Sounds interesting. Especially the vintage radio's and the victrolas.

[@richmoves]

I never thought about it one way or the other, but given all the weird things that we are known to collect, why not something as important to civilization as lightbulbs? They are little sculptures in a way. 💡

[@JerryStevens]

Thank God for Chad Shapiro and other light bulb collectors. Imagine all of these fantastic artifacts being lost. I would love to see Shapiro's collection in person. It reminds me of seeing Edison's lab in Greenfield Village as a kid.

[@cheeseconnoisseur4605]

Come to the meet-up next year! Unfortunately this year's just passed, but there will be another around the same time in Owings Mills, Maryland next year.

[@swmut]

Really is a fascinating collection, and worthy of remembrance of how far we've come in the past century and a half

[@ricknelson947]

My grandfather blew bulbs for Corning from the 1920,s to retirement in 1967. I have been as enthusiastic about collecting bulbs as Chad as long as I can remember. My actual collection is much smaller, but I see the same beauty in antique light bulbs as he. I knew there were some collectors around. Just didn’t realize that there were actually assembled “support” groups.

[@SW-wu7bu]

Is there a page for bulb collectors. Was just looking at an old bulb at my house that was built in 40's. So not too old, but it is cool looking. Interesting design.

[@deme7063]

I have a couple old bulbs. The fascinating thing of it is that something fragile and meant to be consumed , then thrown away, somehow survived all these years

[@MrPleers]

I saved some as well. In the Netherlands they stopped selling them a few years ago. I could not just bin them.

[@deme7063]

@@MrPleers I buy bulbs when I find them at estate and garage sales

[@maxlinder5262]

Should be in a museum ...!!!!

[@octoberdawn1087]

I have an obsession with the way lighting stores look at night from the road, but also the way they look on the inside... Is beautiful and bright yet liminal. Have you ever stood in a lighting store and stared out the window? It's magical.

[@rr7firefly]

Why would David Pogue act as though collecting these objects was such an odd thing to do? They are aesthetically beautiful objects. And one should keep in mind that industrial design is a valid discipline in and of itself, just like graphic design or architecture. Chad has real respect for his collection. Everything is in pristine condition and is kept in a proper archival environment. I like that he has a setup with a rheostat to light up an old bulb slowly.

[@biloregon]

Agreed! The story about the couple collecting "art" in the form of signed urinals, made it seem like they were the doing something special and important.

[@lewstone5430]

@Noe I agree. David acted a bit superior, see my comment above.

[@elmie237]

Am I the only person who thought the interviewer was disrespectful to the collector, Chad Shapiro? He was astounded that someone would collect something so silly. I think it would be a fascinating collection. As the collector said, light has changed the world and the way we live. To see how that technology has changed and developed would be very interesting. I think this collection could be worthy of the Smithsonian or the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, MI.

[@vancepomerening4794]

See my comment above. Pogue is always smug.

[@davidk.1089]

No, I don't think it was disrespectful at all... Chad was self-depricating of himself.

[@mariahuneycutt2855]

No, I don't believe he meant to be disrespectful, it's his style of asking questions that many people watching would ask. He is a little goofy though, and I love his stories

[@lewstone5430]

@G Rem I kinda thought the same, but just a little.

[@JP-lu9ed]

Yes, talking about it as if it were silly to collect this item that was revolutionary for daily life. It really was disrespectful.

[@treasuretom13]

Love what Chad does! Recently while on an exploratory on the side of an old creek bed I found a large unbroken early lightbulb! After seeing this story I plan on calling Chad to let him advise me on what I may have found! Wish me luck🍀

[@Sc0teeBe318]

I feel like the interviewer laughed at him more than doing any actual interviewing. Lightbulbs might not be a common thing to collect but it's not like he collects "adult toys" or something. He's collecting something important and historical. I'm absolutely fascinated by the collection. I wish CBS was too. He deserves more credit and respect.

[@RichardRjmccoy]

it is so awesome seeing an ordinary person be so devoted to a hobby/

[@b.visconti1765]

Love it! You can light up my life anytime..

[@thomasopdahl1873]

As in everything. It is all in the context. Those bulbs lit up some amazing long lost settings.

[@christinetucci9227]

I get it. I love vintage lightbulbs!

[@eduardoveytia244]

A mí también

[@mohitdharnia3468]

Youget Thais light bulbs(1950)in India my house imselling

[@richardzecchini3242]

There is an aesthetic to light bulbs that is really magnificent. There is a simple elegance by the form of the glass and fine line quality of the filament as in a drawing. It is a powerful tool that is utilitarian and sculptural attributed to the early designs. The current LED 'Edison Style" bulbs are missing the mark for what the original inception. It does help that I live near The Henry Ford Greenfield Village.

[@mfrenchcazenovia]

Lightbulbs are beautiful!

[@wanderingangelstudio1359]

As an artist who works with assemblage, I’m fascinated by these bulbs. They’re magic!

[@dwsheffer]

A few years back at a local antique store I found a 50th anniversary commemorative reproduction of Edison's first light bulb on a base from 1929. I think I paid around $20 for it, which was a steal. I'd guess it would work if I would try it as the filament is intact. I now have a few other vintage bulbs but don't consider myself a collector of them, just someone who appreciates history and how we got from "there to here".

[@jazziered142]

A collection is if you have three or more of one thing. 😁

[@dwsheffer]

@@jazziered142 Uh oh, I'm likely in trouble then!

[@gennaterra]

@@jazziered142 Well... if you perhaps FOCUS ON WHAT YOU READ INSTEAD OF FEDDING YOUR PATHETIC CYNICISM you would know that Darin "DOESN'T CONSIDER HIMSELF A COLLECTOR" Just sayin! Liddle BOO BOO

[@RaymondHng]

3:10 Thanks for including Dennis.

[@minervagalvez5937]

I LOVE LIGHTBULBS TOO!!! THIS IS AN AMAZING COLLECTION!!! THANK YOU FOR SHARING!!!

[@kevinwaterman389]

What’s wrong with collecting lightbulbs? The strangest collections I saw so far was “The Toilet paper” and “The Airline Barf Bag” collections! Happy collecting everyone!🥳

[@gilhernandeziii4031]

Priceless....

[@mililaniman]

I never thought that collecting light bulbs could be an interesting pursuit.

[@collinreesejones5525]

Actually Fascinating!

[@NC-qc7wd]

Fascinating, Thomas Edison lived in Louisville, KY! He should go to those antique stores and find more! Love it

[@mrfester42]

For most of his adult life Edison lived in NJ.

[@johnfpotega2017]

I have an electric light bulb from the time homes were converting from gas lighting to electric light bulbs……..I would think it would be at least 100 years old (?), and yes, it still works! Would love to find out more about it!!!

[@donnabaardsen5372]

Absolutely fascinating. I love such offbeat subjects.

[@Jake-rs9nq]

This is actually one of the most unique and fascinating collections I've ever seen. And I love the displays, much better than binders of baseball or pokemon cards.

[@faithhopelove7777777]

I want to know why ancient light bulbs still work but the ones we buy today are toxic junk that rarely last a few months?

[@jazziered142]

Built-in obsolescence. It is deliberately done by manufacturing companies. It happens today all the time. Most of our items have built in obsolescence. Burn and churn, companies make more money. As for light bulbs, LED is the way to go, I've had a couple of my LED lights for 5 to 6 years now.

[@mrfester42]

Those old bulbs didn't last as long as modern bulbs. Use your head. The old ones that work haven't been turned on for much time.

[@Tag-Traeumer]

The lifespan of incandescent light bulbs depends extremely on the temperature of the filament, which depends on the voltage. A 5 percent lower voltage doubles the lifespan, 50 percent lower and the lifespan is 1000 times longer, probably more, over a hundred years. You can do that with a dimmer.

[@mrfester42]

@@Tag-Traeumer I'll file that away in my "Don't need to know" file.

[@Tag-Traeumer]

@@mrfester42 My hint was not intended for you, so your answer ends up in the trash.

[@Bluesbabesrv]

Far out! 😄 Shades of John Denver.

[@Richie8a8y]

I’ve got a few, still work but I decommissioned them. ❤️ 💡 ❤️

[@MrPleers]

Very cool to see his collection. And as a collector (of vintage safety razors in my case) I can only take a deep bow for this man. Not only has he build a huge collection. He also let other people enjoy it and preserves them for the future.

[@Jdh1196]

One of my most fond and cherished hobbies is that of historical antiquities newspaper collecting. I collect issues from historical events, on said days, in the cities they occurred... Examples: June 26th 1789 issue on bill of rights debate; May 1, 1945 Death of Hitler in a German army newspaper; Sept 9, 1783 London paper Treaty Paris, etc.
 Every newspaper I obtain, I not only take precious care of them, I also take photos of each one, each page to keep them safe and to look at them without destroying the paper. The actual papers, I leave in UV and acid protective sleeves. These are pieces of American history and we should treat and safeguard each as such!

[@rebekkad.2092]

He's amazing.

[@lineshaftrestorations7903]

Fascinating. An item missing from the collection is a steam engine that would have driven a Dynamo to provide the current for th lamps.

[@videosuperhighway7655]

Yeah guilty of this 😂. What an awesome collection. My wife would never understand.

[@BeefyMon]

I’m a collector of terrible puns. This report is a true treasure… a “tru-easure”, if you will.

[@robertphillips6296]

I used to collect Business Cards. I now collect Stickers.

[@gregr267]

Why did the interviewer have to approach this piece tongue-in-cheeck? Were the producers afraid the audience would question the validity of the collector's pursuit? Did they need to be apologetic for even featuring him? Be proud of your own editorial choices. Sunday Morning has a history of joyfully celebrating its subjects. This was not a celebration that honored or showed due respect to the subject. It minimized undermined the depth and scholarly nature of his pursuit.

[@johnfpotega2017]

I have a light bulb from the time when homes were converting from gas lights to electric light (bulbs)………it must be over 100 years old (?), and yes, it does still work! Would love to find out more about it???!!!

[@margaretpeabody243]

"Far out!", said dude who no doubt has seen many psychedelic posters with a black light.

[@ALT-9167]

There also other people, like me who collect vintage light fixtures too

[@chrisfinch8637]

💡💡💡💡💡 let the lightbulbs, as well as imaginary light guide your way through.

[@hellhound-si5oz]

Have a bit of a bad habit I like collecting vintage strings of Christmas lights as well as collecting vintage stereo equipment

[@kimberlyenglehardt5770]

I’d like to know what he thinks about LED and CFL lighting. I do strongly dislike the spectrum of those lights. I am very glad the incandescent is not done for yet. I recycle, I am all for the saving water, I have a high mpg vehicle. But I just can’t give up my incandescent lightbulbs. So much easier on the eyes. I prefer the GE reveals.

[@Tag-Traeumer]

That is exactly my opinion too. Incandescent lightbulbs are banned here in Switzerland and throughout the European Union, which makes me angry. But I have a large supply in the basement. LEDs are economical, but the light is cheap and unnatural.

[@be6715]

Anything esthetic or beautiful about light bulbs? Christmas / holiday lights are pretty darned beautiful! Those are light bulbs.

[@lightbulbmaniac]

I collect lightbulbs too, but I mostly collect CFLs

[@photonik-luminescence]

Me too, saw your chanel. Great chanel !

[@lightbulbmaniac]

@@photonik-luminescence Thanks!😄

[@gtb81.]

i actually did bring my 1890's light bulb up to full brightness, was scary as hell though lol

[@davidpar2]

Quite a nice collection

[@SeabassIbarra]

I didn't know a person like him is a collector of light bulbs. That's so cool. I wonder if he can have a EL34 vacuum tube in his collection because that kind tube lights up like a light bulb.

[@DP-hy4vh]

Lots of different people invented various features of the light bulb but Edison was the first one to make it work for a reasonable amount of time and turn it from a science experiment into a commercial product.

[@rachelkoiks]

I'm here hoping to get ideas on how to display my antique lightbulbs... specifically all my little and mini ones. If I arrange them in a cloche, I would need more than one and I would prefer them all together. I'm just not sure how to make them look good since they are of various sizes and shapes but they're all mini sized.

[@coalthedergsune]

I'm thinking of founding a company that makes replicas as close as possible to the real things as they can be

[@PM.68]

Oh amazing!

[@juliebradley6961]

Nice collection Chad! I wonder if you know about the old original lightbulb at a Firehouse in Livermore, Ca.? ( :

[@nml5536]

the light bulb is probably the main reason we are all stressed.

[@RRsalin]

I need to met this man

[@jamsjewels4309]

Someone's got to do it...thats his calling... I wish god gave me that kind of passion in something.

[@montemccarty6512]

This gave me a good idea 💡....

[@eduardoveytia244]

Yo también colecciono bombillas

[@bjs2022]

The lightbulb expert was great until the end when he spoke the incorrect phrase, “…the lightbulb went off.“

[@lee-johnson]

This has a bright future!

[@excaliburjohndeere7657]

I feel the same way about the EV one electric car GM Made and the 2000 Honda insight which I have six of. By the way I get over 100 mpg without the hybrid battery. 100 psi tires and a few other tricks.

[@jdenino6022]

Before there were light bulbs people had to use candles and lanterns which burned whale oil and kerosene. Thank God for lightbulbs. I wonder if anyone collects old lanterns?

[@cefcat5733]

Hahaha! Cool tour!

[@fallenbeforefiona9000]

Thomas Edison stole others inventions. Why don't we know who invented the lightbulb? There's a reason why that had been memory holed.

[@stuh4932]

CBS do more stories like this one. Your political/ puff pieces are not the stories we are here for.

[@Seekthetruth3000]

I love LED light bulbs.

[@lewstone5430]

They last longer but the light is harsher. I’m a “soft light” kinda guy.

[@romstar]

I once had a college professor 👨‍🏫 who had a small collection of Fredrick Douglas memorabilia that he was looking to sell. How I wish I had the money 💴 then to purchase those items, which are probably worth triple what he was selling them for then...😩😩🥺👍🙏☹️

[@badreality2]

Someone here might know, which is better, chromalux light bulbs, or HD+ light bulbs?

[@pamelaperrault6143]

What about Lewis Latimer? He also deserves a little recognition!

[@cheeseconnoisseur4605]

Please say you're joking

[@greengold7440]

The truth is finally told. Look at the story of Lewis Latimer A black man who worked with Edison.

[@deograciasantazo5328]

There’s an urban legend in the Philippines that a Filipino, named Agapito Flores invented a light bulb.

[@charleyfolkes]

How do they last so long ? My light bulbs explode like flash bulbs every few months ..

[@lewstone5430]

Welp you’re doing something wrong because that’s abnormal.

[@vancepomerening4794]

Get rid of Pogue. He is not, as he thinks, either funny or insightful!

[@lewstone5430]

I think David Pogue felt superior to this guy like, *‘finally* I’m not the biggest nerd!’!

[@rr7firefly]

David is well aware that he is also an "entertainer" -- it shows in his style of reporting. Seth Doane does a similar shtick but nowhere like David's delivery. Overall I like their spots and look forward to the ones in the future.

[@hildakapeles964]

Edison had to have Lewis Lattimer, the son of escaped slaves, create the filament to make the lightbulb work. Without Latimer, the lightbulb wouldn't have happened. Why is he not credited.

[@cheeseconnoisseur4605]

Because it's not true. It's a stupid myth made up to push an agenda. Latimer didn't "invent" the filament, he only patented a method of making them that was used for only a short time before it was scrapped. Chad also owns many old sketches and letters from the days of early electricity, including a letter written by Latimer himself discrediting the absurd claim.

[@mernokimuvek]

edison was a thief and animal killer. He stole other peoles ideas and electrocuted animals to discredit AC.

[@zbaby82]

I dig vacuum tubes.

[@ThatsJustMyBabyDaddy]

Is it a smart move to tell the world where a very valuable collection of light bulbs exists? 🤔

[@chrisfinch8637]

In ways, yes, so they can be inspired to start a collection of their own, if they choose to.

[@ludovicoc7046]

Pogue is such a twerp. He always displays a condescending attitude ("You collect WHAT? Hahaha") to the people he interviews; he never accords their passions the respect they deserve. Why should collecting light bulbs be treated any less seriously than collecting any other historical artifact?

[@brianwaskow5910]

Edison stole or took credit for allot of invrntions.

[@jonsmtrs]

Perhaps the greatest evolution of the light bulb in the more recent change to plastic LED. Original bulbs are becoming extinct quickly, making his collection very valuable. It's nothing to laugh about.

[@caseystill466]

I'm done collecting crap I have too much I'm A hoarder no wonder my girlfriend wants me to die so badly

[@elijahmerrill9045]

Research the Phoebus Cartel.

[@rootwoman123]

I wish anyone else on earth had conducted this interview. Anyone. He was too dismissive of his guests' passions.

[@Arnab1violin]

Dislike for the host.

[@samparkerSAM]

My best bulb is a 1906 Mazda General Electric bulb 💡... its almost large industrial type from the french quarter Senator Hotel 🏨