Pair of Midcentury Green Glazed Pagoda Style Stiffel Lamps
About the Item
- Creator:Stiffel (Manufacturer)
- Dimensions:Height: 42.5 in (107.95 cm)Width: 7.25 in (18.42 cm)Depth: 7.25 in (18.42 cm)
- Sold As:Set of 2
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1960s
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:Stamford, CT
- Reference Number:
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.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Stamford, CT
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 2 days of delivery.
- Pair of Midcentury Mirrored Red LampsLocated in Stamford, CTA pair of midcentury bright red painted wood lamps with mirrored panels. Height to top of socket: 18.5 inches. Clear cords. Chrome harps and finials.Category
Vintage 1960s American Table Lamps
MaterialsMirror, Wood
- Pair Plaster Hand Painted Green Foliate and White LampsLocated in Stamford, CTPair of organic modern hand painted green foliated white plaster lamps. Large scale. Includes harps and finial. No shades.Category
Vintage 1960s American Organic Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsPlaster
- Pair Dorothy Draper style Bulbous Urn Lamps with Shell DetailBy Dorothy DraperLocated in Stamford, CTPair of white painted plaster table lamps in the style of Dorothy Draper. Dramatically bulbous shape with large shell features on each lamp. Harps and shades are not included.Category
Vintage 1950s American Neoclassical Revival Table Lamps
MaterialsPlaster
- Pair of Large Ceramic Fleur De Lis LampsLocated in Stamford, CTLarge spectacular pair of ceramic fleur de lis lamps. White and gold gilt glaze. Wood bases. 26" high to the top of the socket. 8" diameter base.Category
Vintage 1960s American Table Lamps
MaterialsCeramic, Wood
- Pair of Large White Ceramic Faux Bamboo Lamps, 1970sLocated in Stamford, CTLarge scale white ceramic faux bamboo pair of lamps from the 1970s. High relief bamboo motif. Very dramatic lamps.Category
Vintage 1970s Table Lamps
MaterialsCeramic
- Pair of Carved Wood Foo Dog Lamps by SarreidBy Sarreid Ltd.Located in Stamford, CTA pair of carved wood Foo Dog lamps by Sarreid of Spain. Shaped black paper lamp shades with gold interiors. Dogs are seated on black painted wood bases. ...Category
Vintage 1970s Spanish Chinoiserie Table Lamps
MaterialsWood
- Original Stiffel Pair of Oversized Midcentury Ceramic LampsBy StiffelLocated in East Hampton, NYPair of Mid-Century Modern glazed ceramic bottle vase form lamps on bronze bases, in bone with grey striations and subtle craqueleur to glazing. Double cluster sockets and silk rewir...Category
Vintage 1960s 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
- Pair of Stiffel Lamps in Glazed Ceramic Bottle FormBy StiffelLocated in Hanover, MAPair of Mid-Century Modern glazed ceramic bottle vase form lamps on brass bases, in bone with charcoal brown striations and subtle craqueleur to glazing. Each measures 42in to top of finial 24in to top of base. Brass bases are 6 inches square and have rich patination. See original ad from a 1960 Chicago Tribune.Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsBrass
- Stiffel Midcentury American Ceramic White Lava Glaze Table LampBy StiffelLocated in New York, NYMidcentury American ceramic table lamp in globular form, the tapered hourglass neck topped by a brass saucer cap and functioning brass light switch socket, the body fired in a matte white lava glaze with a molten pebble-like texture, resting on a ringed cylindrical foot...Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsMetal, Brass
- Pair of Nickel Stiffel LampsBy StiffelLocated in Palm Springs, CAA pair of Mid Century Stiffel lamps newly plated in nickel and rewired with French braid wire. in the style of Tommi Parzinger.Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsNickel
- 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
