Uncommon Walter von Nessen Telescoping Art Deco Drum Shade Floor Lamp c.1948
View Similar Items
Uncommon Walter von Nessen Telescoping Art Deco Drum Shade Floor Lamp c.1948
About the Item
- Creator:Walter Von Nessen (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 56 in (142.24 cm)Diameter: 16 in (40.64 cm)
- Style:Art Deco (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1947 - 1949
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. great shape professionally rewired.
- Seller Location:Camden, ME
- Reference Number:Seller: App 4091stDibs: LU89841607192
Walter Von Nessen
Art Deco industrial designer Walter von Nessen is best known for his glamorous Machine Age lighting designs and for his invention of the swing-arm lamp. Von Nessen was born in Germany, where he studied under Bruno Paul at Berlin’s Kunstgewerbeschule. After World War I, he worked for the architect Peter Behrens, in Berlin. He left in 1919 for Stockholm, where he designed furniture until emigrating with his wife, Margaretta, to the United States in 1923. In 1927, the couple opened Nessen Studios in Manhattan, designing and selling sleek, modern architectural lighting.
Art Deco was both novel and exciting in the late 1920s — as, indeed, was electricity itself — and Nessen Studios was at the forefront of the movement. Electric lighting designers at the time had no direct models to follow. The shapes and silhouettes of gas lamps, lanterns and chandeliers had been influenced by those of the kerosene-, oil- and candle-lit fixtures that preceded them, which in turn were informed by the fuels they used. Electric lighting required designs that accommodated essentials of the new technology, like cords and sockets. Von Nessen and his contemporaries thus had to create fixtures that addressed these challenges and looked modern without appearing overly mechanical.
Along with industrial-design visionaries of the period like Raymond Loewy, Gilbert Rohde and Donald Deskey, von Nessen crafted a style that was emblematic of the Machine Age. He produced lamps and home accessories from spun aluminum, with smooth surfaces that evoked the polished gleam of streamlined automobiles and airplanes. And he experimented with other popular materials of the era, such as Bakelite, chrome and fiberglass. His ingenious design for the now-ubiquitous swing-arm lamp earned him a reputation as an innovator.
Von Nessen’s work is represented in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art and the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian National Design Museum, among other institutions. Designed to complement the luxurious interiors of the 1920s and ‘30s, still look fresh nearly a century later.
- Two Matching Walter Von Nessen Table Lamps, c. 1938By Walter Von NessenLocated in Camden, MEOne of the very recognizable American lamps of the pre WW II Art Deco period. Walter Von Nessen was a trained German industrial designer who arrived in ...Category
Vintage 1930s American Art Deco Table Lamps
MaterialsAluminum, Brass
- Mayan Revival Rare Pair of Art Deco Wrought Iron and Tin Floor Lamps, circa 1928Located in Camden, MEUnusual pair of Mayan Revival wrought iron with pressed tin shades in the form of Aztec head dresses fabricated at a Californian studio for use in a sile...Category
Vintage 1920s American Art Deco Floor Lamps
MaterialsWrought Iron, Tin
- American Empire Wrought Iron Floor Lamp, circa 1910Located in Camden, MEWrought iron American Empire early 20th Century floor lamp. The scale and exuberance of Newport Rhode Island at the turn of the 20th century wi...Category
Vintage 1920s American American Empire Floor Lamps
MaterialsWrought Iron
- Italianate Lead Crystal Chandelier Floor Lamps circa 1940Located in Camden, MEA pair of lead crystal floor lamps each with three chandelier style cast glass arms. Each arm extends 9 inches from the fluted glass central co...Category
Vintage 1920s American Edwardian Floor Lamps
MaterialsCrystal, Onyx
- Brass Tripod Floor Lamp in the Style of Robsjohn-Gibbings, 1950By T.H. Robsjohn-GibbingsLocated in Camden, MERobsjohn-Gibbings style floor lamp manufactured in Chicago in the early 1950s. The lamp is in excellent condition.Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Floor Lamps
MaterialsBrass
- Cast Ceramic Studio Floor Lamp by Bernard Rooke British Ceramicist, 1973By Bernard RookeLocated in Camden, MEDramatic Brute ceramic floor lamp from the Studio of Bernard Rooke. One of England's Mid-Century master ceramicists. Interesting use of cast forms and a variety of glazes. A ...Category
Vintage 1970s British Mid-Century Modern Floor Lamps
MaterialsCeramic, Clay
- Early 1930s Walter Von Nessen Floor Lamp, Art DecoBy Walter Von NessenLocated in Buffalo, NYGreat example, Art Deco, Bauhaus, Walter Von Nessen adjustable height floor lamp. From 50" -58", retains original milk glass shade, also original white bakelite on/off switch, brass ...Category
Vintage 1930s American Art Deco Floor Lamps
MaterialsBrass
- Walter Von Nessen Floor LightsBy Walter Von NessenLocated in Oak Harbor, OHDesigner: Walter Von Nessen Manufacturer: Nessen Lighting Period and Model: Mid-Century Modern Specs: Brushed Chrome Condition These Walter Van Nessen floor lights are...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Floor Lamps
$2,750 / set - Walter Von Nessen Floor Lamp Early VersionBy Nessen Studio, Walter Von NessenLocated in New York, NYEarly and rare version of the now iconic Machine Age Nessen swing arm floor lamp. The construction of this example dates the lamp from the...Category
Mid-20th Century American Machine Age Floor Lamps
MaterialsSteel
- Walter Von Nessen Modern Swing Arm Floor LampBy Walter Von NessenLocated in New York, NYWalter Von Nessen for Nessen Studios modern floor lamp with adjustable swing arm, aluminum with basket-form metal shade, signed under weighted base "Nessen Studios No. 10." Measures...Category
Mid-20th Century American Modern Floor Lamps
MaterialsAluminum
- Walter Von Nessen Aluminum Swing Arm Floor LampBy Walter Von NessenLocated in Buffalo, NYWalter Von Nessen Aluminum Swing Arm Floor Lamp ,, Wonderful example,, Retains original parchment shade (missing some boon-doggle) Minor dent to bottom,,3-way lamp (bulb) capability,...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Floor Lamps
MaterialsAluminum
- Early Version Walter Von Nessen swing out floor lampBy Walter Von NessenLocated in Buffalo, NYOne of the purest examples I have ever owned..Early and rare version of the now iconic Machine Age Nessen swing arm floor lamp. This lamp retains its (always replaced) glass shade as...Category
Vintage 1930s American Art Deco Floor Lamps
MaterialsStainless Steel