Rare Milo Baughman for Kovacs Cantilever Chrome Desk / Table Lamp, Model 3085
By George Kovacs, Milo Baughman
Located in St. Louis, MO
Founded by Viennese-born designer George Kovacs, the George Kovacs brand was a pioneering force in bringing sleek European modernist lighting to the American market. After studying d...
Chrome
Alvar Aalto for Valaistustyö Ky ‘A704’ Table Lamp in Leather
By Valaistustyö, Alvar Aalto
Located in Waalwijk, NL
Alvar Aalto for Valaistustyö Ky, desk lamp, model ‘A704’, enameled steel, enameled aluminum, leather-bound metal, Finland, 1954 This table lamp model ‘A704’ is designed by Finnish...
Metal, Aluminum, Steel
Cocotte Desk Lamp by Gilardi & Barzaghi, Italy, 1950s
By Gilardi & Barzaghi
Located in Marinha Grande, PT
The minimalist bent brass base gives the lamp a light and sculptural appearance typical of Italian post-war lighting design. The Cocotte model was documented in the Italian design ma...
Metal, Brass
Alvar Aalto for Valaistustyö Ky ‘A704’ Table Lamp in Leather
By Valaistustyö, Alvar Aalto
Located in Waalwijk, NL
Alvar Aalto for Valaistustyö Ky, desk lamp, model ‘A704’, enameled steel, enameled aluminum, leather-bound metal, Finland, 1954 This table lamp model ‘A704’ is designed by Finnish...
Aluminum, Steel
Paavo Tynell "Model 9224" Table Lamp for Idman Oy, Finland 1950s
By Idman Oy, Paavo Tynell
Located in Utrecht, NL
Designmuseo, Helsinki, 2005, model illustrated p. 21 Idman lighting catalogue, Helsinki, 1954, n°136. p.52 Idman lighting catalogue, Helsinki, n°142. p.80 About the designer: Paavo ...
Brass
Paavo Tynell Model 9224 "Horseshoe" Table Lamp for Idman Oy, Finland 1950s
By Paavo Tynell
Located in Utrecht, NL
Designmuseo, Helsinki, 2005, model illustrated p. 21 Idman lighting catalogue, Helsinki, 1954, n°136. p.52 Idman lighting catalogue, Helsinki, n°142. p.80 About the designer: Paavo ...
Brass
Pair of Raoul Guys 'Antony', Chairs Designed for Cite University, Paris , 1954
By Raoul Guys
Located in bergen op zoom, NL
The 'Jean Zay/ Antony' university residence was designed by the French architect Eugene Beaudoin and built in 1954. The interior furniture and lighting for the “Antony” residence was...
Steel
Pair of natural tone anodized aluminum chandeliers, 1970. by César Putzeys
By Cesar Putzeys
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
Verre Lumière is a French company founded in 1968 by master glassmaker and decorator Max Ingrand (former artistic director of Fontana Arte from 1954 to 1967), the Mazda lighting comp...
Aluminum
$1,484 / item
B206 Black Wall Lamp by Disderot
Located in Geneve, CH
In the effervescent early years of the Trente Glorieuses, he began designing interiors as soon as he left school, creating furniture and lighting, which he exhibited at the Artistes ...
Metal, Aluminum
$1,307 / item
B206 White Wall Lamp by Disderot
Located in Geneve, CH
In the effervescent early years of the Trente Glorieuses, he began designing interiors as soon as he left school, creating furniture and lighting, which he exhibited at the Artistes ...
Metal, Aluminum
Max Ingrand “1774” Coffee Table for Fontana Arte, 1958
By Fontana Arte, Max Ingrand
Located in Lonigo, Veneto
As FontanaArte’s artistic director (1954–1967), Ingrand revolutionized lighting design.
Brass
Ico Parisi Attributed, Teak Wall Display Unit with Multi-Colored Drawers
By Ico Parisi, Gio Ponti
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Design details reflect Parisi’s deep involvement with La Permanente Mobili Cantù, where he created some of his most collectible furniture from 1954 onward. The brass lighting, bold l...
Brass
Tapio Wirkkala, Pair of "Korean" Centers for Venini, Murano Glass, 1966
By Tapio Wirkkala
Located in Brussels, BE
A highly productive designer and artist, Wirkkala worked with very different materials and designed products of glass, wood, porcelain, metal and plastics, created sculptures, glassw...
Murano Glass
Pair of luminous tables model G 30 by Joseph-André Motte Ed. Charron France 1958
By Joseph-André Motte, Charron
Located in Paris, FR
Some of the furniture was innovative: hot-bent wood for a series designed by Joseph-André Motte from 1954, adjustable mirrors with indirect lighting for René-Jean Caillette’s dressin...
Steel, Chrome
The right table lamp, outwardly sculptural chandelier or understated wall pendant can work wonders for your home. While we’re indebted to thinkers like Thomas Edison for critically important advancements in lighting and electricity, we’re still finding new ways to customize illumination to fit our personal spaces all these years later. A wide range of antique and vintage lighting can be found on 1stDibs.
Today, lighting designers like the self-taught Bec Brittain have used the flexible structure of LEDs to craft glamorous solutions by working with what is typically considered a harsh lighting source. By integrating glass and mirrors, reflection can be used to soften the glow from LEDs and warmly welcome light into any space.
Although contemporary innovators continue to impress, some of the classics can’t be beat.
Just as gazing at the stars allows you to glimpse the universe’s past, vintage chandeliers like those designed by Gino Sarfatti and J. & L. Lobmeyr, for example, put on a similarly stunning show, each with a rich story to tell.
As dazzling as it is, the Arco lamp, on the other hand, prioritizes functionality — it’s wholly mobile, no drilling required. Designed in 1962 by architect-product designers Achille & Pier Giacomo Castiglioni, the piece takes the traditional form of a streetlamp and creates an elegant, arching floor fixture for at-home use.
There is no shortage of modernist lighting similarly prized by collectors and casual enthusiasts alike — there are Art Deco table lamps created in a universally appreciated style, the Tripod floor lamp by T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings, Greta Magnusson Grossman's sleek and minimalist Grasshopper lamps and, of course, the wealth of mid-century experimental lighting that emerged from Italian artisans at Arredoluce, FLOS and many more are hallmarks in illumination innovation.
With decades of design evolution behind it, home lighting is no longer just practical. Crystalline shaping by designers like Gabriel Scott turns every lighting apparatus into a luxury accessory. A new installation doesn’t merely showcase a space; carefully chosen ceiling lights, table lamps and floor lamps can create a mood, spotlight a favorite piece or highlight your unique personality.
The sparkle that your space has been missing is waiting for you amid the growing collection of antique, vintage and contemporary lighting for sale on 1stDibs.
The alluring pendant light exemplifies the designer’s winsome mid-career work.
Patrizio Chiarparini of Brooklyn’s Duplex gallery sheds light on the lasting legacy of Italy’s postwar furniture boom.
There are many lessons to be learned from the lofts, apartments and townhouses of architects and decorators in Manhattan and beyond.
Having created extravagant homes for reality TV’s biggest stars, the designer is stepping into the spotlight with his first book.
The Louisiana-born and -bred architect talks to 1stdibs about the art of making timeless places that matter.
The Palm Springs interior decorator developed a mid-century style that defined the vacation homes of celebrities and other notables, including Bob Hope and Lucille Ball.
The houses from this New York studio cloak modernist tendencies within what are often more traditional trappings.
In the market for a fantastic fixture from the 1940s, ’50s or ’60s? Here are some names to know.