Freddy Coury

I have been in the antique restoration business for over forty years and spent many years before that apprenticing in my fathers antique shop and restoration business. I was very delighted to see to see a show about other restorers like myself and my family. That was until the episode featuring the Antique Magic Lantern. To take a great early glass slide projector and refit it with a modern LED light shows no knowledge or really no appreciation for the art of restoration. A true craftsman in the art would restore the item to it's original method of operation, whether it be, in this case, candle, kerosene lamp or early incandescent bulb. If original or replacement parts are unobtainable you craft the parts using methods and materials as the craftsman who created the piece. Most true restorers have a cache of parts and or materials along with tools and the knowledge to restore an item back to original as possible. I myself have phonograph parts ,lamp parts , doll parts, furniture parts , clock parts along with antique, wood, metal and glass materials stashed away waiting for the day when that particular item shows up needing to be brought back to it's original glory.