I do quite a bit of restoration work (my specialty is the reproduction of antique light fixtures) and have found CFL's to be abn excellent replacement for incandescents in many antique designs, as long as the fixture has an opal shade or diffuser. The many "Scientific" fixtures (usually intended for commercial, industrial, or institutional installations) produced in the two decades after the introduction of the Mazda C lamp (Gas-filled, coiled coil tungsten filament, 100-300 watt) among which are the so-called "Schoolhouse" fixture, and most of the semi-indirect units of the 1920's, offer excellent light distribution and quality. They were replaced in general useage because of the superior efficiency of fluorescent fixtures. Modern CFL lamps work extremely well in these fixtures if the installer takes care to position the socket so that the center of illumination of the CFL is located in approximately the same position as the center of illumination of the incandescent lamp for which the fixture was intended. One must always remember that the high wattage incandescents of the 1920's and 1930's were considerably larger than those of the modern era, and that the efficiency of vintage fixtures suffers terribly when modern replacements are used without the proper adjustments. WHen used porperly, however, the CHL can give these eighty year old fixtures a new lease on life.
