The Pharos Have Arrived!

Well...they have arrived at last--at my house anyway!

First, I want to say "What a Beautiful Set!" I wanted all five of these beauties from the first moment I saw pictures of them. I was not disappointed after finally getting to hold these pieces in my hands!

Second, I would like to thank Mike Callahan for having a set to sell! Also, thanks to my friend, Todd in Daytona Beach, for seeing the post in the Marketplace and telling me about it! We were on vacation in Florida the first week of May, and I had not looked at the forums for a few days. Todd mentioned that someone was selling a set of Pharos. It had been three days since the ad was posted and I didn't think the pieces would still be for sale. I replied to Mike and to my astonishment they were still available! This was on my birthday--what a birthday gift!!

Needles Point, England, has got to be one of the most unique pieces ever made by Harbour Lights. Not a very big piece, but how many lights have a doorway, balcony, and windows carved out of a nearby rock?! If this is/was the keeper's house, it has got to be the most unusual ever! The waves creeping up the lighthouse and the rock shelter make for a great effect!

Portland Bill, England, is next with its red and white tower and the very nice keeper's house. With its flat roof and five chimneys, this is a very impressive-looking house attached to the light by an enclosed walkway. Another "keeper"!

Ballinacourty Point, Ireland, is the next little cutie with the stubby tower and nearby keeper's house. Not a large piece, but it has lots of detail! Very nice!

To round out the set of five, we have Trwyn Du, North Wales and Bell Rock, Scotland.

Trwyn Du has a black and white tower and steps carved in the light for entry about one-third of the way up the lighthouse. Though small, it is also very special. Large waves, once again climbing the light give a great effect!

Bell Rock also has the large waves with its white tower and black lantern room. The very bottom section is grey with a black ladder that leads to the entrance above the waves. Though small, once again, these pieces have very nice detail.

I hope this describes the pieces to some degree.

All five came with special brown Pharos collection boxes, which are a nice touch from the regular boxes.

I know there hasn't been much discussion about the Pharos lately. I would be curious to know who else might be lucky enough to own any of these pieces.

Excellent Job Harbour Lights!

I filled out my set of Pharos a little while back; I located a dealer in England that had the three I still needed. Sue and I got to meet her and her husband on our recent excellent adventure to San Diego/El Cajon/Anaheim since Pat and her husband made the trip from England to be at the Anaheim Show.



I like the smaller size of the Pharos lighthouse; especially since cabinet number six is on the way. I really liked the quality of the Portland Bill lighthouse and when I turned it over I discovered one reason... “made in China” label on the felt bottom. After inquiring about this with Harbour Lights, I was informed that you couldn’t very well have a new series of just one lighthouse. I surmised, out loud, that it wouldn't work just adding it as an International light either, because of the smaller size of the Pharos lights and was responded to with a, "correct".

There are some of the Pharos that did get delivered to some of the stores selling Harbour Lights in England, before they stopped production and I hope that there are a bunch of Portland Bill's stored somewhere waiting for the series to be continued.

SaintWackoPaul '
Keep the Flame

Ballinacourty Point looks nice. I had wanted to get that one to go with my Hook Head.

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KRISTIN ERIN SCROOPE
kristin@scroope.net
http://www.scroope.net/lighthouses/lhlist.htm

I think that these lighthouses are just great and would love to have them also. I saw an artists proof set just this past weekend on Cape Cod. They will be going up for auction soon. For details, if you are interested, you may contact Chris Alex from Collector's World, Box 338 Rte. 6, Eastham, MA. 02642 or call (508) 255-3616.

Ron
(CT Keeper)

Other than Portland Bill, how would you folks describe the quality of these pieces vs. the HL's produced recently? Was it that bad that they should have been scrapped, in your opinion?

I really wanted this set from the get-go, and when it turned into a no-go, I was left feeling so low!

The quality of these pieces weren't the problem. The factory ruined the master molds and therefore the ability to continue to make more than the first few and that was also the reason Harbour Lights couldn't just switch the molds to the China plants.

SaintWackoPaul '
Keep the Flame

We also were able to acquire a complete set and agree with everything that Randy stated. The quality is outstanding. They are really great looking pieces and because of their size we can actually squeeze them into that last remaining space in the dining room curio. Randy may have understated the description of the boxes. The design really sets them apart from the normal packaging.

Gary

Anyone know where I can get a set........without giving away my first born?

Thanks

Ditto for me, know where there are two sets???

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[This message has been edited by pharologst (edited 06-05-2001).]

Received my set today. I am really impressed with these pieces. Ballinacourty Point Ireland and Needles Point England are outstanding. Wackos, try to get a hold of these pieces.

Looking at the picture they look a lot like the ones I have made by Ian Fraser from Scotland.These are also smaller than the ones made for sale in this country but beautiful work.Bill O'Brien

I was surprised with my set earlier this week but waited until yesterday to open them. I am very, very pleased with them. I know there had originally been discussions about "quality" and when I examined them I thought they were very well made...they seemed as well made and painted as the regular LE pieces. The statement Paul made about the factory ruining the master molds makes a lot more sense to me.

The only "quality" issue I found was the seahorses were too easy to find Whenever I get a new piece, my daughter (she's 10) and I have to find the seahorse before we put it away in the curio. We found it on all five very quickly..like within 15 secs...not much of a challenge! But hey...I'm not complaining...I am extremely (and I mean EXTREMELY) happy to have them !

BTW my numbers are in the low 2000s (they don't match but come within 100 of each other). Do we have any estimate yet from Harbour Lights about the edition size of these pieces?

Doc John

I am envious of you all who have the Pharos. They are really good looking, and I know you won't sell them, but probably will go high up the scale on the secondary market.

Rusty

You might work on trying to get a set one piece at a time Rusty. They are all very nice pieces but I personally am partial to the Ballinacourty Point Ireland and Needles Point England pieces. It looks like no one here has an good idea about the total number released but as I said my numbers were in the low 2000s so there would appear to be a fair number out there...you gotta look.

Doc John

Rumors I have heard are low three digits released on each. The first two thousand were scheduled for collectors who had expressed interest in the U.S. The rest were scheduled for the UK. Since none of the orders were filled in the US then that means there are only hundreds (probably less than two hundred of each) of each available in the UK. Hint, use the Dealers Directory at Harbour Lights.com.


[This message has been edited by SThompson (edited 07-12-2001).]

Just ordered my set at a great price ($279)including shipping. Anyone interested can contact the following as other sets are still available: mbaldac@cwcom.net


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[This message has been edited by pharologst (edited 07-19-2001).]

The Pharos Collection is a must for the serious collector. I have no idea why Harbour Lights would consider this set not up to their quality standards. To me these are as great as the Limited Editions. You better get 'em before they're gone!!
Ken

For about the 0ne Thousandth Time..... the Pharos that are available, are in fact up to their high quality standards! The one's they destroyed were not! Also, the master molds were ruined at the factory and unusable so no more could be produced.

SaintWackoPaul '
Keep the Flame


[This message has been edited by engbrady (edited 07-22-2001).]

Patience, Paul, patience. Not everybody knows the whole story...

You tell'em Paul!(AGAIN)(LOL)

Sorry, Ken I did't mean to pick on you, but basically the whole story was already here in this thread. My information came officially from Harbour Lights in my earlier posts in this thread.

Paul L Brady

I'm a bit surprised by the somewhat mild reaction to the availability of the Pharos Collection. If you ask me (and even if you don't), I say this is a HUGE OPPORTUNITY...a TOTALLY UNEXPECTED COUP...a FANTASTIC TIME for collectors to get some EXTREMELY RARE pieces from Harbour Lights.

More on this in the Fog Signal Building.

Mine finally arrived here in the backwoods of Murphy NC today. THEY ARE WORTH THE WAIT!! Beautiful and slightly smaller than normal, but gorgeous just the same. They now occupy a premier spot in my cases, (at least until I get thrilled by my next acquisitions).

As others have stated, if you have any interest, NOW is the time, NOT LATER!! There are only HUNDREDS available, not the normal 5000-10,000.

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[This message has been edited by pharologst (edited 07-25-2001).]

Here's an oldie that had some answers to some recent questions.

I agree with Randy these lights are fantastic. a real must have for the serious collector. I wouldn't part with my sets for anything. one dispalyed and one stored. there really aren't many out there. i got mine a couple of years ago from a shop in England and they were having a hard time getting rid of them. I've heard they went out of business or quit carrying them. The person I just bought the twelve British little lights from seems to have their stock and I believe he intends to put them on ebay. Like I say these lights are well worth having.

Bill b