For Immediate Release For More Information

Floyd & Bonnie Durk

11225 E. Robb Cook Rd.

Centralia, MO 65240

573-696-3619

Dlites208@aol.com

Antique Lamps To Light in Missouri

Coal-oil, or kerosene lighting, is often “mystic” to those who are too young to have experienced the warm glow that illuminated our homes in years past. Collectors restore and light the old lamps that were essential for our parents and grandparents. Many young people today are discovering the nostalgia and beauty that antique lighting add to their home décor—especially family heirloom lamps.

Collectors who prize old lamps will hold their 40^th annual Gathering (convention) August 1-4, 2012 at the University Plaza Hotel, Springfield, Missouri. The Gathering is sponsored by The National Association of Aladdin Lamp Collectors (www.aladdincollectors.org)/

Floyd & Bonnie Durk are the General Knights (hosts) who plan and organize events. Calling themselves Aladdin Knights, the group is America's largest club of antique lamp collectors. More than 500 are expected to attend.

Lamp and lighting collecting clubs in attendance will be: Aladdin Knights of the Mystic Light (www.aladdinknights.org), The Rushlight Club (www.rushlight.org), oldest lighting club in America, who will hold their summer quarterly meeting in Springfield, MO; The Night Light Club (www.nightlightclub.org), collectors of miniature lamps; The Historical Lighting Society of Canada (www.historical-lighting.on.ca); Historical Lighting Club of England; the Guild of Lamp Researchers (www.lampguild.org) and the Fairy Lamp Collectors (www.fairy-lamp.com).

Collectors and students of antique lighting attend to study and learn history of lighting ranging from rushlights and whale oil to discovery of new fuels and technology in lamp improvements. Aladdin Lighting Technologies, Inc., manufacturer of Aladdin lamps, will be present. Gathering events include an auction, educational seminars, memorabilia display room, raffle, banquet and the huge Show & Sale. The “Ladies of the Knights” donate their time and talents to make a beautiful, handmade quilt that a lucky member will win at the annual banquet.

The Antique Lamp Show & Sale opens to registered members at noon Friday and to the public on later Friday and on Saturday. Spectacular, rare, and beautiful are words that describe this unique and unusual show featuring antique lighting. World-class dealers will offer an immense variety of antique lighting and accessories. Lamps of all kinds including colored pattern oil lamps, Gone-With-The-Wind, art glass lamps, opalescent lamps, miniature lamps, student lamps, finger lamps, Victorian hanging fixtures, floor lamps, center-draft lamps, as well as the collectible early electric lamps, plus the world-famous Aladdin lamps including their Deco style figurines!

The public is invited to the 23rd International Lamp Show & Sale on Friday, August 3 from 3 to 7 PM and Saturday from 8:00 AM to 3:00 PM at the University Plaza Hotel. There is a nominal admission fee. See the website: http://http://www.aladdincollectors.org/ for details.

For more information, contact Floyd and Bonnie Durk, 11225 E. Robb Cook Rd., Centralia, MO 65240. Email: Dlites208@aol.com

-30-

New Items always arriving!

 Wow - the only word to describe the new china hutch and buffet we just added to our store.  This is a custom unit made out of solid wood - no sawdust here!  In face we believe most of the wood is walnut which is very rare now.  You can buy both of these for $2299 and if you act quick we will throw in a matching walnut table with seating for 8!




We are always adding things to the store that pique my interest - here are a couple of things we just added last week.  One is a night light for a man cave!  Every man needs one of these.  It can be had for the low price of $49.00

Also new in the store are a great pair of old phones.  One is a wall hanger and is complete - it is on sale for $159.00.   The other is a operator phone from the early part of the century and has the separate box with ringer on it for just $100.00

 And we also have this cute puppy that just arrived - it is a syrow wood Scottie with glass eyes and for sale at the low low price of $41.00

New TV Show Coming!

Breaking News!   Our friends at Evident Entertainment will premier their new show called SOLD! on the History Channel, 11 April.  It airs at 9:00 PM Eastern/8:00 PM Central   Check out the quick trailer on the front page of our website!

This show takes place right here in Missouri at the Lake of the Ozarks and stars Rick Bryant who owns a family run auction company.  This new show blends all the fire and brimstone action of a fast paced auction with the history and background of things being sold.  Every week will feature unique and one of a kind items and the people who want them. 

Please let everyone you know to tune in and help make the premier of SOLD! a record breaker!  

Secretary Drop Down Leaf Desk

We are starting to get a lot of interesting things in the store and as time permits I will try to let you know about them on this blog. Just arrived is this great looking secretary desk. It is drop leaf with a leather writing surface.

 Check out the inside of this desk - it has several hidden compartments.

 This would look perfect in any hallway or den.  It is available right now in the store for the low price of $550.00   Act fast - this one won't last long. 

Great Spring Deals!

We just moved a lot of things in from our recent estate buy.  Now is the time to buy before anyone else beats you to this great deal.  If you want to buy any of the things I am showing today on this blog ask for Mike and get a Special 15% discount on these items only.

Check out this great Formal Dining Room Ensemble - It is made by Bernhardt and Seats 12.  Comes with Table and 10 chairs and 2 captains chairs.  Also comes with custom made table pads.     Check out this great china hutch below that comes with it.  On the left is the very nice roll around server.

You can get this entire Formal Set for $3550.00 (or the smart buyer will mention this blog and get 15% off)

We also have several other items from this estate like a Retro Crush Velvet couch in excellent condition for $850.  Very nice Lazy Boy Couch and Love Seat for $440, an Ethan Allen Corner Desk with working refrigerator for $450.00.   There is a nice secretary desk for 379 and Mirror for $129.00

New Estate Just Added

As many of you know we are a "UNIQUE" store that offeres a lot of different things.  Many people look for antiques, others search for addtions for their collections.  A lot of what we offer are things people can use in everyday life.

We just added an estate that has all of the above!  We just added to our furniture floor some very nice living room couchs made by Lazy Boy and Ethan Allen.

Also as part of this estate is a HUGE Formal Dining Room Ensemble that includes 12 chairs, China Hutch and Buffet.  This unit is not in the store yet but will be soon.

I will post more information about all of it and pictures in the next day or so.  Keep watching!

Time for Some Fun

Everyone learns a lot watching all the TV shows like American Pickers, Pawn Stars, Storage Wars, X-Files and so on.  Well its time we bring to light a recent find that may shake the artifact world to its very core!  When it comes to antiques no one beats this find.

We all know our government is at best inept and at worst corrupt.  Everyday you read stories about them buying a toilet seat for $10,000 or funding research to watch shrimp on a treadmill.   So when we had the opportunity to bid on a government storage unit we had no idea what we would end up with.  Deep within the dusty old storage boxes in an non decrepit government building were some truly amazing finds. 

Take a close look at this fossil we found.  This thing totally blew our minds - It was still packaged and ready for shipment along with its shipping lable.  But look really close at the claws of the beast.

Can you see it?  Buried deep in the claw of this old dinosaur!   Here is another picture closer up.  Keep in mind that this head is a couple of feet long. 

Now how did a coca cola bottle end up in the claws of an extinct dinosaur?  In my opinion the scientists who found this were aware of something extraordinary.  It must have been trapped in a time warp experiment straight out of the cold war era!  They did the right thing and contacted personnel from U.S. Department of Science and were ordered to ship it to a special unit within the department of Justice.  Specifically they were to ship to Agent Scully and Muldar.  We have no idea what bureaucratic mishap caused these finds to be stored for years and how they ended up being auctioned off but I am sure there will be a

blue ribbon committee convened to investigate.

Along with the soda drinking Dino were a couple of other oddities like this dinosaur egg complete with a dinosaur.    Also in the box was the fossil of another small dinosaur and the original shipping label.

You can see and view these great finds at our store.  The raptors were moved into the furniture room so we would have space to display these new additions to our store.    We also have a huge slab or rock of some kind with fossilized fish on both sides.  For those of you old enough - think back -Rod Serling -Theme song of the twilight zone.