Years ago, my very first exhibition as a 19-year-old museum curator was called Lights Out and showcased lighting devices in the collections of the Cumberland County Historical Society. My passion for lighting devices came from some articles that I had read in Early American Life magazine about changes in technology from fat lamps to candles to whale oil and finally kerosene. Now, some years later, I still find myself fascinated by early lighting devices. A few weeks back, I purchased a mid-19th-,century tin lamp. The shop clerk who sold it to me wondered what it was, and I explained about wicks, the fluids, and the like. She thought I liked curiosities and pointed out other archaic tools in the collection. For me, the lamp, while probably not easily or pleasantly used today, is more than a curiosity. It is a valued antique that speaks to how we lived as a nation in the 19th century. I recall a dear friend who told me that one evening he and his mother lit around 20 oil lamps for the effect. He told me it was magical to see, although it did get a bit smelly after a bit. Still, it created a different perspective for him to enjoy his paintings and artwork. Collecting early lighting devices is a wonderful place for a new collector to begin a lifetime hunt. Whether fat lamps or candlesticks, there are infinite varieties of things to collect. In my home, I have a group of candlesticks spanning from the 17th century Spanish to the WMF Moderne. I put red candles in all of them and get quite the effect. Sitting by the television is a late 19th-century oil lamp with a large polished brass disc that can be adjusted behind the flame. It came from a doctors office in Billings, Montana, and is one of my favorite Old West relics from my time in the Rocky Mountains. The electric lamps in the house are equally varied, from an early 20th-century bronze lamp from a Vermont country home to a pair of Chinese fantasy electric candles that probably came from a New Jersey home in the 1950s. Lamps are like paintings, they are something that you can fit into almost any dcor. You can collect them or simply have an elegant set of candlesticks on a dining table. Windows with oil lamps burning in them or candlesticks with hurricane shades are equally elegant. Spend some time hunting for some great lighting devices for your home. They are very affordable and something that a new or an experienced collector could find and acquire. Born to collect should be the motto of Peter Seiberts family. Raised in Central Pennsylvania, Seibert has been collecting and writing about antiques for more than three decades. By day, he is a museum director and has worked in Pennsylvania, Wyoming, Virginia and New Mexico. In addition, he advises and consults with auction houses throughout the Mid-Atlantic region, particularly about American furniture and decorative arts. Seiberts writings include books on photography, American fraternal societies and paintings. He and his family are restoring a 1905 arts and crafts house filled with years worth antique treasures found in shops, co-ops and at auctions.