I found this treasure in a 132 year old apartment building owned by my father. Strangely, it was the only one of its kind in the entire structure. I have no idea if it was one of the original fixtures. When I first saw it, I thought the base was severely deteriorated brass. After much elbow grease and a fair amount of metal cleaner/polish, I have decided it is probably lead that had a painted brass finish. I cleaned it as best I could and then applied a coat of Rust-Oleum Hammered Gold. The title refers to the absent screw that is supposed to secure the knob to the shaft...Uh, actually, I took the screw out because it seemed to make a more interesting subject.