Did you ever have one of those collector reflection moments where you look around your collection and see faults? I think we all do that. Sometimes its about the quality of our collections, and sometimes its about the look. Over the holidays, I came to realize that the lighting in our home was pretty bad. Years ago on a Sunday at Black Angus, I purchased some lovely electrified brass Victorian lamps. They have traveled with us over the years, and I cannot imagine living without them, but at the same time they do not fit in very well with our dcor. So, I began a crusade to find new lighting. To my mind, good lighting is really hard to find. There is a lot of really bad lighting out there in the world. Finding fixtures that provide enough light as well as look good, well, that can be a tall order. Here in Wyoming, we have limited lighting choices. There are the ubiquitous wagon-wheel, wrought-iron horseshoe or deer antler light fixtures. While the western look is great, it just does not match our house. Next up are the generic fixtures from the 1950s. Again, the challenge is that I tend to like a bit edgier design, so not much to see here. I used to love Arts and Crafts fixtures, but having owned several, I find that they dont throw a lot of light. So where do I go next? For me the next stop is eBay. Despite paying sales tax and crazy postage, I do love the site and can still find bargains there. I often hear that people cant find things. Like going to an antiques shop, you need to go through a lot of broken and chipped stuff before finding the masterpiece. But, they are still there to be found. So for me, it was time to look at lamps from the 1920s and 1930s. The holdover of the tenderloin era married to the roots of the Art Deco. We are seeking out lights that were originally wired rather than being converted from oil. Off to the web, but how do you find good looking lamps? Well, the trick is to have the right search word. Lamp will get you millions of responses that would take forever to sort through. So, lets drill down and look at better terms. The first 40 years of the 20th century had a myriad of revival movements. The Arts and Crafts went through a second iteration. There was a continuing fascination with Moorish and Middle Eastern design. The King Tut discovery fired interest into Egyptian Revival styling. And, finally, there was a fascination with orientalia. The latter intrigued me, as Chinese Deco is a favorite of mine. So, off to eBay, and about $150 later, three lamps arrived at the house. Two were American foundry copies of oriental-inspired electrical candlesticks. The third was a Chinese brass urn that had been modified. All three had ancient cords that were easily replaced. A further hunt found a shade for the urn lamp. My total expense was under $200, and now I have a new look for the parlor. But, of course, that means I now need to get some Asian prints for the room. Peter Seibert, a native Pennsylvanian, grew up in the antiques business and remains closely tied to auction houses, collectors, and dealers. Professionally, he has served as a museum director and public historian in Pennsylvania, New Mexico, Virginia, and Wyoming. He holds a Master of Arts in American Studies from Penn State and has authored two books and numerous articles on decorative arts, interior design, and history.