$2,250
H 16.54 in W 17.72 in D 16.93 in
Elegant Articulating Fratelli Martini Art Deco Streamline Desk Lamp, 1930s
Located in Niederdorfelden, Hessen
Elegant articulating Art Deco / Streamline desk lamp made in Europe in the 1930s. Beautiful ivory body with brass detailing, well-constructed, heavy and of extremely high quality.
Metal, Brass
Art Deco Bakelite Streamline Desk Lamp by E. Cole, c1930
By Eric Kirkham Cole
Located in Devon, England
A stunning example of Eric Kirkman Cole's Art Deco stylish table lamp in superb brown bakelite. A model designed in the 1930s and produced in European countries under license. This p...
Metal
Streamline Modern Chrome & Enameled Bankers Desk Lamp by Radionic
Located in Van Nuys, CA
Streamline Art Deco styled chrome & enameled Bankers Desk Lamp by Radionic Trans Co.
Metal
$580
H 14.5 in W 24 in D 13 in
Streamline Modern Dazor Lighting Floating-Arm Metal / Fiberglass Desk Lamp 1940s
By Dazor
Located in Miami, FL
Dazor Lighting model #2008 Floating-Arm desk lamp. It has a shade with a Flying Saucer shape with a metal top and a fiberglass diffuser. From the Dazor website "Founded in 1938,...
Metal
$525
H 2.38 in Dm 7.25 in
Streamline Modern GEI Folding Table Desk Lamp by Enrique Aparicio Spain 1960
Located in Miami, FL
Minimalist Modern Spanish Folding Desk Lamp by Enrique Aparicio for Gabinete de Estudios Industriales from 1961. With its low profile, when closed, this metal lamp is the perfect de...
Chrome, Iron
Vintage Streamline Machine Age Desk Lamp
By Gilbert Rohde, Walter Von Nessen
Located in Dallas, TX
Very cool original design with high quality construction. Early Art Deco Walter Von Nessen styled fluted socket housing, Gilbert Rohde styled tubular arm, Kurt Versen like balls and...
Unavailable
H 12 in W 7.5 in D 9 in
Machine Age Art Deco Gilbert Rohde Attribution Pair Articulating Table Lamps
By Gilbert Rohde, Kurt Versen
Located in Dallas, TX
Machine Age Art Deco Gilbert Rohde Attribution Pair Articulating Table Lamps Matched pair iconic 1930s streamline modernist desk or end table lamps.
Brass, Enamel, Chrome
Art Deco Bakelite Streamline Desk Lamp by E. Cole
By Eric Kirkham Cole
Located in Devon, England
A stunning example of Eric Kirkman Cole's Art Deco stylish table lamp in superb brown bakelite. A model designed in the 1930s and produced in European countries under license. The sh...
Bakelite
1930s Streamline Machine Age Faries Lamp Co. Steel and Brass Desk Lamp
By Faries Lamp Co.
Located in Las Vegas, NV
1930s Faries Lamp CO. Desk lamp. Double shade swivel heads. Two-tone brass/brushed steel body. Each shade takes a standard 60 watt bulb. It is in perfect working order with it's o...
Streamline Art Deco Desk Lamp
Located in New York, NY
This skyscraper style Desk lamp rests on a stepped base and pivots to adjust the light. It is made of polished chrome and really exemplifies the machine age influence on Art Deco in ...
"Streamline" Desk or table lamp - 1970s
Located in Linkebeek, BE
Streamline Moderne is an international style of Art Deco architecture and design that emerged in the 1930s. Inspired by aerodynamic design, it emphasized curving forms, long horizont...
Metal, Aluminum
American Streamline Art Deco Chrome Desk Lamp
Located in Astoria, NY
American streamline Art Deco chrome desk lamp, apparently unmarked, with spherical lamp on an industrial style chrome riveted base. 19" H x 8.5" diameter.
Chrome
Industrial Streamline Sightlight Desk or Table Lamp
By Raymond Loewy
Located in Cincinnati, OH
A swivelling satin black metal Industrial Streamline desk or table lamp with brushed aluminum stem and vented shade with turned aluminum final.
Enamel and Chromium Streamline Bankers Desk Lamp
Located in Van Nuys, CA
This Art Deco streamline modern lamp is finished in a light bronze metallic finish with chrome accents. The lamp also possesses chromium and enamel adjustable bankers.
Metal
Art Deco Streamline Desk Table Lamp, 1930s
By Jacques Adnet
Located in Buenos Aires, Olivos
Art Deco streamline table lamp 1930s. The half ball has movement, and can regulate itself with the side screws. Its in original conditions.
Chrome
Art Deco Streamline Copper & Brass Desk Lamp
Located in New York, NY
This Art Deco desk lamp in copper and brass features a domed canopy over a tapered fitting with a monogram plate . Newly rewired.
Fase Style Streamline White Enamel Metal Desk Lamp with Saucer Shade, 1940s
Located in Bainbridge, NY
Fase Style Machine Age All White reading desk lamp with white saucer shade. Featuring a White enameled metal Streamline arm, 15D White enameled Shade, Brass knob and switch plate det...
Metal, Brass
Streamline Art Deco Machine Age Desk or Table Lamp in Copper and Chrome
Located in New York, NY
An Art Deco Machine Age desk or table lamp in copper and chrome. A chrome base, on which rests the light switch, supports a copper neck/stem. A chrome domed shade rests on the piece,...
Chrome, Copper
1920s Art Deco Streamline Desk Lamp
Located in Surrey, BC
A designer style Art Deco desk lamp with a desirable cantilevered arm and two-tiered enameled metal shade.
Brass, Metal
Art Deco Desk table Lamp Streamline Machine Age Patinated Metal & Brass
By Faries Lamp Co.
Located in San Diego, CA
Beautiful and very rare 1930s patinated metal in a copper finish with brass finial. small desk table lamp in working condition beautiful unique and very hard to find.
Metal, Brass
Streamline Moderne Chrome Desk Lamp, circa 1940
By Gilbert Rohde
Located in Norwood, NJ
A superb example of Streamline Moderne design, this chrome desk lamp dates to around 1940 and embodies the sleek sophistication of late Art Deco aesthetics.
Brass, Chrome
Sold
H 11 in W 12 in D 7 in
Streamline Industrial Modern Art Deco Metal Desk Lamp Donald Deskey Era, 1930s
By Donald Deskey
Located in Chula Vista, CA
Streamline Industrial modern Art Deco metal table desk lamp attributed to the style of Donald Deskey, circa 1930.
Metal, Copper
Sold
H 12.5 in W 10.75 in D 11.5 in
1947 Streamline "eye-saver" Cobra Desk Lamp by Jean Otis Reinecke Faries
By Jean Otis Reinecke, Norman Bel Geddes
Located in Buffalo, NY
Classic Art Deco , Streamline "Cobra" desk / table Lamp designed by by Jean Otis Reinecke for Faries MFG.. coined "Eye Saver" Robert Fairies MFG- Jean Ottis.
Metal, Brass
Gilbert Rohde American Art Deco Streamline Desk Lamp
Located in Coral Gables, FL
This sweet American art deco desk lamp designed by Gilbert Rohde sits on a block of Brazilian rosewood. The 7 ¼” diameter dome is nestled in a support of square tubing. The wood ha...
Rosewood
Streamline diminutive Brass Desk Lamp
Located in Oakland, CA
A small desk lamp with a great look.
Brass
Machine Age Table Desk Lamp Faries Cobra Streamline Art Deco
By J.O. Reincke, Faries Lamp Co.
Located in Oakland, CA
Art Deco streamline lamp, complete and restored. A favourite of mine, the famous “Cobra” lamp. Although commonly attributed to Normal Bel Geddes, J.O. Reincke is the listed designer ...
Metal, Copper, Chrome
Streamline Polaroid Desk Lamp by Walter Dorwin Teague, circa 1939
By Walter Dorwin Teague
Located in Essex, MA
Executive Desk Lamp , Model No. 114, by Walter Dorwin Teague (1883-1960), and manufactured by the Polaroid Corporation, Cambridge, Massachusetts, circa 1939-1941, in bakelite and alu...
Aluminum
Large Pivoting Streamline Desk or Task Lamp by Norman Bel Geddes
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This beautifully designed early Bel Geddes lamp has a polished nickel finish. The shade pivots from side to side while the base sits stationary. It holds a circular fluorescent bulb ...
Nickel
Modernist Streamline Desk Lamp Industrial Art Deco Design
Located in Oakland, CA
Rare Art Deco industrial light. Half rounded metal top that can be used in multiple positions. Acquired in Argentina but in the style of some of great looking designs by American ind...
Chrome
Sold
H 12 in W 12 in D 6 in
Machine Age Art Deco Streamline Markel Desk Lamp Jeweler's Lamp Banker's Lamp
By Markel Corporation
Located in Dallas, TX
Machine Age Art Deco Streamline Markel Desk Lamp Jeweler's Lamp Banker's Lamp Banker Bankers Rare Canadian 1705 model (C.E.S.A.
Aluminum, Chrome, Enamel, Steel
Dazor Modern Space Age Flying Saucer Desk Lamp
By Dazor
Located in Los Angeles, CA
1960's Dazor Model 2008 Made in U.S.A. The Lamp shade is adjustable, rotate to the right and left and adjust up and down.
Metal
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.
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.
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