I am not looking at the lamp...but sounds like a crafter was making lamps out of perhaps things he found...mounting them on a piece of wood, wiring them and putting a shade on.
Likely he never became famous, or you would have been able to find out about him on the web.
Linda C

hi I'm William McDonald, call me Bill, Don McDonald ismy father .First of all for Acey, a little history.My dad hand sculpted the very first of these lamps in the basement of our house on Bramble lane, Riverside Ct:Old Greenwich was just down the street.the first lamp was th "Scuba diver" lamp. he sculpted it in clay first made a sand cast mold of it cast it in white lead re fined the sculpture by grinding and filing(we didn't know about lead poisoning in the 60's)then cast it again in brass and again re sculpted it. so there is a lot of hand work in these lamps. The base is solid walnut, polished with fine steel wool and reddish brown shoe polish.your lamp was to sculpted the same way how ever no longer in the basement of our house (really stunk up the house.)you get a shade through www.wndesherbinin.com.My father , my brother my self and my mother all worked on these lamps...well this is totally amazing after close to 30 years I'm hearing about Donald W. McDonald sport lamps. They later sold though ,Abecrombie and Fitch, Maus and Hoffman and Orvis they are all limited editions and sold for about $495.00 Soif you'd like to hear more as in how to clean the lamps contact me ..e.mail w.mc.donald@snet.net. sincerely, Bill McDonald

Amazing!! Wonderful!! The power of the internet!!
Glad to "meet" you Billymac!
Linda C

Billy, that is too cool! Imagine, your being on this board, and someone posting a question about one of your dad's lamps. I love how you described all the hard work that went into making each one, and how it often was a family affair. Is it likely that you helped make the lamp the OP has? My curiousity is piqued, and I'd love to see a photo or two, if anyone has some.

I came upon the web site while Googling William McDonald Sprot Lamp. We have one of the fish lamps which I purchased for my husband in the early 80s. Just this week end he bought one of 3 golfers in brass on the wooden base with the same inscription and signature on the back. He thinks it is #2 of 2. What do you know about this lamp. Any value??? Would appreciate any info. G. Hudnall

Hi William,
I recently purchased one of your family's sports lamps at a local antique store. It appears to be all original, and is numbered 71. I was hoping to have a hand written explanation of the lamps history from you, to keep with the lamp. Certainly would appreciate hearing from you...thanks!

My parents owned a duck lamp, # 17 purchased through Orvis. My father passed away last month and left a request for us to get the lamp appraised in his will. I have been unable to find a value for it. Bill, the story behind how you made them is fascinating. I just shared it with my husband and one of my sisters. Is there a place where we can appraise it for the estate?

I just bought #58 in the 3 golfer series and I love it. It's very whimsical and just a real neat conversation piece. The guy was asking $100 and gave it to me for $50. I need to get a shade for it but I'm so excited to have this lamp. Bill, do you have any pictures of some of the lamps your father made? Thanks, Kelly

Just a suggestion for those of you with questions for billymac. His post is over three years old so you might email him at the address given in his post. It doesn't look as if he has come back to check since then.