During the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century, paper model publishers sometimes offered lampshade kits for kerosene lamps. These lampshades almost always took the form of 3D papercraft dioramas of exotic locales. The subjects depicted on the paper shades ranged from views of the ancient city of Constantinople to Swiss mountain landscapes to panoramas of the jungles of Asia. The lampshade in the photo was published in Germany around 1905 and is titled "Chinese Landscape". The "lit window" effect seen in the photo can only be achieved by modifying the original template (i.e. cutting out the solid windows and replacing them with a colored, translucent material). The templates for this lampshade and several others may be downloaded
here. As common sense would dictate, hot light bulbs and paper shades should not be in close proximity to one another for any extended period of time! Use caution and a very low wattage bulb if you choose to build one of these!
Other Vintage Papercraft:
Elephant Pagoda
Circus Automata
Madonna Fountain
Moorish Style School
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