Very Rare Fog & Morup Desk Lamp
By Fog & Mørup
Located in Sittard, NL
Very rare Fog & Morup desk lamp from the 30's, denmark. Hard to find edition.
Very Rare Fog & Morup Desk Lamp
By Fog & Mørup
Located in Sittard, NL
Very rare Fog & Morup desk lamp from the 30's, denmark. Hard to find edition.
30's Desk Lamp
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Brass desk lamp
Brass
Italian 30s Desk Lamp
Located in Los Angeles, CA
isn't she lovely?
Glass, Wood
Sold
H 13.78 in Dm 11.42 in
Solid brass table or desk lamp art deco 30's Perzel style French modernist
By Atelier Jean Perzel
Located in Ternay, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Nice French art deco desk lamp from the 30's in the style of Jean Perzel's work from the same period.
Brass
6556 Desk Light by Christian Dell for Kaiser Idell 30’s
By Kaiser Idell
Located in Landgraaf, NL
6556 desk light by Christian Dell for Kaiser Idell 30’s.
Metal
Bauhaus Desk Light by Karl Trabert for Schanzenbach und Co. 30s Germany
By G. Schanzenbach & Co. Frankfurt a.M. 1, Karl Trabert
Located in Landgraaf, NL
Bare metal bauhaus desk light by Karl Trabert for Schanzenbach und Co. GmbH, 30s Germany. Adjustable shade, wooden handle and bakelite E27 socket. Nice patina and in good vintage con...
Metal
French Art Deco Brass and Marble Desk Lamp
Located in London, GB
A gorgeous French Art Deco brass and marble desk lamp, dating from the 1920-30’s. It is of superb quality and is a lovely size.
Marble, Brass
Late 30's Desk Lamp
Located in New York, NY
Desk Lamp, Acrylic & Brass
It has rewired and has a new shade.
The head part is adjustable.
the base: Less 8" X 4", total h:16", Shade H:13" (approx.)
Brass
German Bauhaus Desk Lamp President by Christian Dell for Kaiser 30's
By Christian Dell, Kaiser Leuchten
Located in Basel, CH
German Bauhaus desk lamp model President in brass by Christian Dell for Kaiser Leuchten, Germany, 1930s.
Brass
Antique table lamps became a category of their own once electricity moved light off the wall and onto furniture. The form split quickly: task-driven designs like the Anglepoise on one side, decorative ceramic and glass on the other.
Styles to Know
Base material shapes the light as much as the shade does: ceramic and glass diffuse a softer glow, while brass and metal read more directional. Layer the look with a mid-century modern floor lamp for ambient light, or set a pair on a mid-century modern nightstand for a bedroom.
How to Choose the Right Vintage Table Lamp
Buying individually rather than as a pair allows more flexibility when mixing eras across a room. For those shopping by name rather than by shape, the history of the Anglepoise lamp is worth a read. Each piece comes from a vetted 1stDibs seller, with era, designer and condition detailed, and the 1stDibs Promise stands behind every purchase.
No one knows for sure who invented the desk lamp, as many engineers worked on designs for lamps during the 1920s. Many experts cite the Anglepoise lamp, however, as the earliest iteration of the modern desk lamp. Since its 1934 debut, this ingenious task light has become one of the most celebrated examples of industrial design.
How the Anglepoise came to be is the stuff of design legend: In 1932, a vehicle-suspension engineer by the name of George Carwardine joined forces with a West Midlands springs manufacturer, Herbert Terry & Sons, to create a mechanism by which opposed springs would, as Carwardine explained, exert a “unidirectional constant force” on a pivoted lever that could counteract the force of gravity.
This invention was not destined for an auto but for a lamp Carwardine was developing. The innovation would allow the piece’s articulated arm to be moved with ease to almost any position and remain there. As the product of engineering acumen rather than fashion, the Anglepoise soon became a favorite among modernist architects and designers, who interpreted it as “a machine for lighting,” just as Le Corbusier had reimagined the house as “a machine for living in.”
The Angelpoise's rivals include the 1930 Bestlite, which was one of the earliest Bauhaus-influenced designs, created by Robert Dudley Best, who had studied under Walter Gropius at the Bauhaus in Dessau. German modernist Karl Trabert’s 1930s desk lamp for Schanzenbach & Co. was notable for its domed shade above a hinged arm.
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