HETTIER & VINCENT : pair of French 1930 art deco wall sconces ..... lamp France

French lamps and wiring

Art deco lamps made in France were equiped with B22 bayonet sockets. For most countries like Europe or the US such sockets are practicaly impossible to use. For instance in the States 110 volt bulbs with B22 fitters are obscure, very hard to find and only one model bulb in very limited wattages is available. In spite of what sellers of unrestored pieces of poor quality claim in their ads when they offer  lamps with bayonet caps sockets : except for the UK and Australia  French chandeliers and lamps need to be rewired for your country. In order to fit Edison large or small screw base bulbs as used in the USA, B22 sockets have to be replaced by American candelabra base or standard/medium size Edison screw-in sockets.  E14 and E27 are modern replacements for European countries.   An additional complication is that the size thread used in early French lighting to connect the sockets to the chandelier mountings or lamp bases is not compatible with the modern size threads used in the USA and Europe. New American or European sockets do not just screw on to the old lamp fixtures.  In order to make it possible to use an original old French chandelier or lamp with modern screw bulb bases, a specialized restorer will have to re-tap the threads.  All my cleaned and restored chandeliers, sconces and lamps come rewired with the correct sockets you will need to use modern bulbs in your country.