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Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
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Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
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Vintage 1960s Hollywood Regency Table Lamps
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Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
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Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Mid-20th Century American Table Lamps
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Harlequin Lamp Marbro For Sale on 1stDibs
How Much is a Harlequin Lamp Marbro?
Finding the Right Table-lamps for You
Well-crafted antique and vintage table lamps do more than provide light; the right fixture-and-table combination can add a focal point or creative element to any interior.
Proper table lamps have long been used for lighting our most intimate spaces. Perfect for lighting your nightstand or reading nook, table lamps play an integral role in styling an inviting room. In the years before electricity, lamps used oil. Today, a rewired 19th-century vintage lamp can still provide a touch of elegance for a study.
After industrial milestones such as mass production took hold in the Victorian era, various design movements sought to bring craftsmanship and innovation back to this indispensable household item. Lighting designers affiliated with Art Deco, which originated in the glamorous roaring ’20s, sought to celebrate modern life by fusing modern metals with dark woods and dazzling colors in the fixtures of the era. The geometric shapes and gilded details of vintage Art Deco table lamps provide an air of luxury and sophistication that never goes out of style.
After launching in 1934, Anglepoise lamps soon became a favorite among modernist architects and designers, who interpreted the fixture as “a machine for lighting,” just as Le Corbusier had reimagined the house as “a machine for living in.” The popular task light owed to a collaboration between a vehicle-suspension engineer by the name of George Carwardine and a West Midlands springs manufacturer, Herbert Terry & Sons.
Some mid-century modern table lamps, particularly those created by the likes of Joe Colombo and the legendary lighting artisans at Fontana Arte, bear all the provocative hallmarks associated with Space Age design. Sculptural and versatile, the Louis Poulsen table lamps of that period were revolutionary for their time and still seem innovative today.
If you are looking for something more contemporary, industrial table lamps are demonstrative of a newly chic style that isn’t afraid to pay homage to the past. They look particularly at home in any rustic loft space amid exposed brick and steel beams.
Before you buy a desk lamp or table lamp for your living room, consider your lighting needs. The Snoopy lamp, designed in 1967, or any other “banker’s lamp” (shorthand for the Emeralite desk lamps patented by H.G. McFaddin and Company), provides light at a downward angle that is perfect for writing, while the Fontana table lamp and the beloved Grasshopper lamp by Greta Magnusson-Grossman each yield a soft and even glow. Some table lamps require lampshades to be bought separately.
Whether it’s a classic antique Tiffany table lamp, a Murano glass table lamp or even a bold avant-garde fixture custom-made by a contemporary design firm, the right table lamp can completely transform a room. Find the right one for you on 1stDibs.
- 1stDibs ExpertMay 14, 2024The history of Marbro lamps dates back to 1934, when brothers Morris and Elliott Markoff founded the Marbro Lamp Company. The brothers relocated from Chicago to southern California after the end of World War II and set up an assembly plant in the garment district of Los Angeles. Vases and objets d'art sourced from all over the world were used as lamp bases. The brass bases came from India, alabaster from Italy, porcelain from Japan and China and crystal from Germany and France. Murano glass and whimsical bronze figurines were two of the more popular base materials. Marbro lamps were one of a kind and took between 75 and 90 days to complete. Occasionally, they were made from sculptures that customers brought into the factory. Highly skilled woodturners and shade-makers crafted lampshades and wooden bases in Marbro's shop. The company's best-known products were these table lamps, but it also produced a wide variety of decorative objects. The Masco Corporation acquired the Marbro Lamp Company in 1987. Its Los Angeles assembly plant shuttered its doors in 1990. Its equipment and remaining inventory were moved to LaBarge Mirrors — a Masco subsidiary — in Michigan. Shortly after, the production of Marbro lamps ended. On 1stDibs, explore a variety of Marbro lamps.
- 1stDibs ExpertApril 16, 2024No, the Marbro Lamp Company is not still in business. The Masco Corporation acquired the company in 1987. Its Los Angeles assembly plant shuttered its doors in 1990, and its equipment and remaining inventory were moved to La Barge Mirrors, a Masco subsidiary, in Michigan. Shortly after, the production of Marbro lamps ended. Find a diverse assortment of Marbro Lamp Company lighting on 1stDibs.
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