Carriage Lantern Business Ends

Carriage Lantern Business Ends Rick Bischoff is likely the end of the line for horse-drawn carriage lantern restoration. Until recently, The Luminary Shoppe was the only full-time carriage lamp shop in the U.S. Bischoff had been producing finely handcrafted and restored carriage lamps since the mid-1980s. When he retired earlier this year, he couldn’t recommend anyone to buy his business. That wasn’t for lack of demand for his craft. “When I decided to retire, I stopped taking new business,” says Bischoff. “It took me several years just to clear up back orders.” The problem, he explains, is the lack of associated craftsmen. While he did the metal work, including spinning, cutting and bending, he relied on others for glass cutting, beveling and bending. Silver plating and polishing were also outsourced to others. “There are many skills involved in carriage lamps,” says Bischoff. “I couldn’t do them all. I made parts, assembled them with those made or finished by others and did the final painting.” Like Bischoff, many of the other craftsmen he called on have also retired or, like him, are the last in their line of work. “There’s only one man in the country that I know of who can bend glass, and he’s 86 years old,” says Bischoff. “Corning Glass Works will do it, but one piece of glass can cost $700 to $800. There’s not enough money in the product to justify that.” Even learning the crafts that Bischoff mastered is not an easy task. When he first purchased an existing coach lamp business, he began researching a particular skill and seeking out craftsmen who would share their advice. “I ferreted out the methods and procedures, and then I made barrels and barrels of scrap metal until I produced a good part,” recalls Bischoff. Spinning metal and producing curved parts with the use of an English wheel were particularly challenging. Breaking into a craft industry where reputations were everything was equally difficult. Bischoff started by attending a nationally recognized carriage auction and buying old lamps. He would restore them, return to the auction, and put them up for sale. Gradually, his reputation grew. “One day, I had a call from Steve Holm, then a coachman who worked for David Rockefeller,” recalls Bischoff. “He’d watched my work at the auctions and asked me to restore two lamps he wanted to give Rockefeller as a birthday gift.” That call and the resulting job opened the door to work for museums, collectors and others with lamps to replace or restore. As Bischoff’s career wound down, he determined to pass on what he had learned, should others wish to develop the skills. His brother-in-law, Dave Engel, has posted over 500 videos on YouTube about various crafts required for horse-drawn vehicle building and restoration. He suggested Bischoff do the same. “I’ve made 50 videos over the years and covered everything I felt was important about the business,” says Bischoff. “If anyone wants to attempt this sort of work, the videos will provide a guide.” Many of Bischoff’s unique tools and examples of his work are now on display in a shop and museum in his hometown of Joliet, Mont. Engel bought The Luminary Shoppe to preserve Bischoff’s work and crafts. While Bischoff had begun turning down new assignments several years earlier, he did take on one last job before retiring. It was for Holm, now a nationally recognized carriage driving judge. “Steve had a pair of lamps he wanted me to restore,” says Bischoff. “He was my first and last customer, 41 years apart.” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Rick Bischoff (mtlampltr@gmail.com; Facebook: The Luminary Shoppe).

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