1950s Stiffel Lamp Turquoise Crackle Glaze Ceramic and Brass
View Similar Items
1950s Stiffel Lamp Turquoise Crackle Glaze Ceramic and Brass
About the Item
- Creator:Stiffel (Manufacturer)
- Dimensions:Height: 36 in (91.44 cm)Diameter: 7.5 in (19.05 cm)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1950s-1960s
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:New York, NY
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU921317578482
Stiffel
When Ted Stiffel (1899–1971) founded Stiffel in 1932 in Chicago, he wanted to make functional, thoughtfully designed table lamps and other fixtures that were available at an accessible price. Born in Memphis, Stiffel first pursued a career in music before serving in World War I. After his discharge, he worked with the Western Electric Company in Chicago and then the Nellie J. Kaplan Company, a lighting firm also in the Windy City.
After he started his own lamp business, Stiffel began supplying area department stores and by the 1940s had opened a large factory that was producing lamps for nationwide sale, eventually competing with the likes of the Frederick Cooper Lamp Company, also based in Chicago. In 1948, designer Edwin J. Cole joined the company and created some of the firm’s most striking table lamps. Today, Cole’s vintage mid-century modern lighting fixtures for Stiffel, frequently with distinctively tall and shapely ceramic bodies and finished with decorative brass chinoiserie details, are highly prized by collectors.
One of Stiffel’s innovations was his patented switch, which simplified turning lights on and off: All someone had to do was grasp a lamp’s pole and gently pull down. He also designed a pole lamp with a vertical tube that held a series of fixtures on the outside. The upright pole lamp was so innovative that Sears, Roebuck and Company copied it. Stiffel sued, and the case ended up in the Supreme Court in 1964. The ruling against Stiffel was influential in whether states can give a patent to objects that do not have the invention required of federal patents.
After declaring bankruptcy in 2000, the brand was revived in 2013 in Linden, New Jersey, where newly produced high-quality lamps carry the Stiffel name.
Find a collection of vintage Stiffel lighting on 1stDibs.
- Pair of Stiffel White Crackle Glazed Ceramic and Brass Table LampsBy StiffelLocated in Chicago, ILPair of heavy bodied, white craquelure glazed ceramic table lamps. Patinated brass appointments from the best days of American premier lighting company, Stiffel. Sold sans shades.Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsBrass
$2,062 Sale Price / set25% Off - Crackle Glazed Porcelain and Brass Lamps by StiffelBy StiffelLocated in New York, NYPair of classically styled crackled glazed ceramic lamps on satin brass bases. Rewired for use in the USA. Shades not included.Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsBrass
- Pair of Stiffel Crackle Glaze Ceramic and Brass Moorish Style Table LampsBy StiffelLocated in Chicago, ILExcellent pair of brass and ceramic bodied Moorish style table lamps by Stiffel. Ceramic bodies are a mottled sea foam green crackle glazed u...Category
Vintage 1960s American Table Lamps
MaterialsBrass
$2,800 Sale Price / set20% Off - Tall Mid-Century Modern White Crackle Glaze Ceramic and Brass Lamp by StiffelBy StiffelLocated in Oklahoma City, OKA tall ceramic and brass torchère style table lamp by Stiffel. A rare find, this circular lamp with white crackle glaze, has long been a difficult find for Stiffel lovers. The ro...Category
Mid-20th Century North American Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsMetal, Brass
- 1950s Patinated Brass Stiffel Table LampsBy StiffelLocated in New York, NY1950s patinated brass tall table lamps by Stiffel. Height to light socket 31.5.Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsBrass, Metal
$1,800 / set - Stiffel Fluted Walnut and Brass Table Lamp, 1950sBy StiffelLocated in New York, NYTable lamp with four-point base in fluted walnut and brass by Stiffel, 1950s.Category
Vintage 1950s American Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsBrass