Art Specialty Co Flexo Banker Desk Lamp Flying Saucer Shade Fluorescent Dazor
By Dazor
Located in Forest Grove, PA
A substantial "flying saucer" desk lamp by Art Specialty Co., Flexo from the 19450s.
Metal
Articulated Art Deco Architects Desk Multidirectional Lamp by Flexo
By Art Specialty Co
Located in San Diego, CA
Massive Industrial multidirectional desk lamp by Flexo, in gunmetal gray original finish in great working condition and nice clean finish, double halogen lights and nice flexible arm.
Steel
Brass Desk Table Lamp Shell , Art Nouveau, Art Deco
Located in Mombuey, Zamora
Desk shell Flexo lamp, early 20th century Art Nouveau, Art Deco.
Brass
Pair of Table Lamps Shell Form Brass Art Deco Midcentury
Located in Mombuey, Zamora
Desk shell Flexo lamps, 20th century They are two lamps or desk lamps, for bedside tables with an upper shade in the shape of a brass shell.
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.
Find vintage table lamps and other lighting on 1stDibs.
The 1920s design is a thrilling combination of saturated colors, ancient motifs and modern aesthetics.
Bespoke lighting is a hallmark of upscale interiors, and contemporary makers are increasingly ambitious in their materials and forms.