900 boxes of New Old Stock Moe and Thomas Industries lighting: Here we go again!

Howdy Moe, another time capsule warehouse full of old lighting: some 900 boxes of New Old Stock Moe and Moe-Thomas Industries lighting locked up since the early 1970s. Discoverer-Scott has barely begun to process selling all this lighting, which I bumped into for sale on ebay or mobile phone users use this link then navigate to seller’s other lights for sale (affiliate links) during my daily search yesterday. I reached out to Scott for permission to feature some of the lighting. He explained:

2,500 boxes of stuff in all

Wow, what an awesome blog you have….spent the last hour fully at peace reading it and drinking tea. The storehouse this stuff came out of was crazy, it had been closed up in the early 70s and sealed up like a tomb from one side, the owner having a change of heart on his profession …. kept paying his rent for the space though, and continued until 2009, when it went for sale. It was about a shipping container-sized space.

When we finally got in there was about 2,500 boxes of the stuff collecting space dust, all organized on shelving, like one day he shut the door and never came back. I sold a small amount last year — about 10 pieces — and just started again last week with them, more Moe than I can process on ebay for sure. Thanks again for your interest in the Moe, they are really fun and have a great story to tell. You can see some of my other fun finds on my Instagram if you have any spare time….what am I saying….spare time, now that’s a rare find.

Out of all the boxes 2500 ish there was around 900 pieces of marked Moe and Moe Thompson. The rest were similar unmarked boxes of material like chains, poles, wire, light bulbs, glass replacement globes, plates and sconces. But easily 900 Moe fixtures. I have only listed 10 or so. The rest are tucked in my garage waiting for a new home. No one in Montana likes these things, they need to breathe somewhere east or west.

Thanks again. Glad someone loves them.

Scott in Montana

Thank you, Scott, I’ll be keeping an eye on, for sure! 

Right now I seem to see a fair number of what I guess you’d call “diffusers” for recessed can lighting — my experience is that these can be very hard to find. I will forewarn you, Scott, that the market for diffusers like this may not be ginormous. That said: You have found your market — Retro Renovation readers! 

There are also a few groovy ceiling fixtures — I’d expect these would go faster, especially given that it looks like they are in great condition.

And remember, everyone: Even if lighting is New Old Stock, that doesn’t necessarily mean the wiring is still good or that the piece is to today’s code, etc. In addition, there may be hazards in old materials and products including lighting. Consult with your own properly licensed professionals to assess what you are working with/dealing with. For more info, see our Be Safe/Renovate Safe page.

Shop Scott’s lighting treasure trove:

• New Old Stock Moe and Thomas Industries lighting for sale by innocentbystander on ebay
• mobile phone users use this link then navigate to the seller’s other items