Karl Springer Desk Lamp
Vintage 1980s American Post-Modern Table Lamps
Chrome
Vintage 1980s American Modern Table Lamps
Brass, Chrome
Vintage 1980s American Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Chrome
Mid-20th Century German Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Glass, Acrylic
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Brass
Vintage 1970s French Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Lucite
Vintage 1980s American Modern Table Lamps
Brass
Vintage 1980s American Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Glass, Lucite
Recent Sales
Late 20th Century American Table Lamps
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Table Lamps
Brass
Late 20th Century American Table Lamps
Vintage 1980s American Art Deco Table Lamps
Metal
Vintage 1980s American Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Coral
Vintage 1980s North American Modern Table Lamps
Brass, Chrome
Late 20th Century American Table Lamps
Vintage 1970s American Table Lamps
Brass, Steel
Vintage 1970s American Modern Table Lamps
Brass, Chrome
Vintage 1980s American Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Stone, Coral
Late 20th Century American Table Lamps
20th Century American Table Lamps
Late 20th Century American Table Lamps
20th Century American Table Lamps
20th Century American Modern Table Lamps
Tortoise Shell
20th Century American Space Age Table Lamps
Chrome
Vintage 1970s American Modern Table Lamps
Brass, Gold Plate
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Travertine, Brass
Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Table Lamps
Marble, Travertine, Brass
Vintage 1970s American Table Lamps
Brass
Late 20th Century American Table Lamps
Vintage 1970s American Table Lamps
People Also Browsed
21st Century and Contemporary Mexican Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Fiberglass, Linen, Fabric, Wood
2010s Italian Mid-Century Modern Wall Lights and Sconces
Brass
2010s South African Minimalist Pedestals
Hardwood
21st Century and Contemporary British Organic Modern Wall Lights and Sco...
Plaster
2010s American Mid-Century Modern Wall Lights and Sconces
Brass, Nickel, Enamel, Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Swedish Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Textile
2010s American Modern Stools
Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary American Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers an...
Plaster
Vintage 1970s Italian Post-Modern Beds and Bed Frames
Wood, Elm
2010s Italian Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
Brass
Vintage 1970s Belgian Mid-Century Modern Fireplaces and Mantels
Iron
2010s Italian Modern Table Lamps
Brass
2010s Brazilian Minimalist Wall Mirrors
Steel, Zinc
21st Century and Contemporary French Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Stainless Steel
Vintage 1960s French Daybeds
Elm
Karl Springer Desk Lamp For Sale on 1stDibs
How Much is a Karl Springer Desk Lamp?
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.
Read More
This Paavo Tynell Chandelier Is a Radiant Bouquet
The alluring pendant light exemplifies the designer’s winsome mid-career work.
Ettore Sottsass Captures a Shooting Star in This Rare 1970s Floor Lamp
Before founding the Memphis Group, Sottsass bent the rules of lighting design with the wonderfully wavy Cometa.
You Don’t Need a Fictional Fairy to Get This Real Pinocchio Lamp
Warm chalet style meets cool Bauhaus functionality in Pietro Cascella’s cleverly carved creation.
Why Is Italy Such a Hotbed of Cool Design?
Patrizio Chiarparini of Brooklyn’s Duplex gallery sheds light on the lasting legacy of Italy’s postwar furniture boom.
With a High-Tech Flagship and Cool Collabs, Lladró Is Breaking the Mold for Porcelain Production
Thanks to its new leadership, the Spanish maker of figurines, busts and lighting is on a mission to update the art of porcelain for the 21st century.
Christopher Tennant’s Lamps and Dioramas Evoke Sunny Days and Seaside Locales
The former magazine editor blends elements of the Far East and America’s eastern shores, bringing wit and delight to his handmade, upcycled designs.
Paavo Tynell’s Snowflake Chandelier Warms Up Any Room
This circa 1950 piece by the legendary Finnish lighting designer spent the past several decades in a family's home in Michigan.
NASA Parachutes Inspired Lighting Designer Bec Brittain’s New Collection
In "Paraciphers," now on view at Emma Scully Gallery in New York, Brittain introduces works that were more than a decade in the making.