Stiffel Saucer Shade Enameled Metal and Brass Three-Light Floor Lamp, 1950s
About the Item
- Creator:Stiffel (Manufacturer)
- Attributed to:Paavo Tynell (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 52 in (132.08 cm)Diameter: 24 in (60.96 cm)
- Power Source:Plug-in
- Voltage:110-150v
- Lampshade:Included
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1950s
- Condition:Additions or alterations made to the original: New solid brass finial. Refinished. Rewired: Newer switch on white shade allows for one, two, or three lights to be turned on or off as needed. Wear consistent with age and use. Refinished w/ enamel in past. Saucer w/ faint signs of underlying surface irregularity/wear. Red shade w/ scratches. Green shade w/ paint drip. White shade w/ minor marks/dent. Paint on fittings. Brass w/ minor marks and patina. Base w/ small marks.
- Seller Location:San Francisco, CA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU955044660012
Stiffel
When Ted Stiffel (1899–1971) founded Stiffel in 1932 in Chicago, he wanted to make functional, thoughtfully designed table lamps, floor lamps and other fixtures that were available at an accessible price. Born in Memphis, Stiffel first pursued a career in music before serving in World War I. After his discharge, he worked with the Western Electric Company in Chicago and then the Nellie J. Kaplan Company, a lighting firm also in the Windy City.
After he started his own lamp business, Stiffel began supplying area department stores and by the 1940s had opened a large factory that was producing lamps for nationwide sale, eventually competing with the likes of the Frederick Cooper Lamp Company, also based in Chicago.
In 1948, designer Edwin J. Cole joined the company and created some of the firm’s most striking table lamps. Today, Cole’s vintage mid-century modern lighting fixtures for Stiffel, frequently with distinctively tall and shapely ceramic bodies and finished with decorative brass chinoiserie details, are highly prized by collectors.
One of Stiffel’s innovations was his patented switch, which simplified turning lights on and off: All someone had to do was grasp a lamp’s pole and gently pull down. He also designed a pole lamp with a vertical tube that held a series of fixtures on the outside. The upright pole lamp was so innovative that Sears, Roebuck and Company copied it. Stiffel sued, and the case ended up in the Supreme Court in 1964. The ruling against Stiffel was influential in whether states can give a patent to objects that do not have the invention required of federal patents.
After declaring bankruptcy in 2000, the brand was revived in 2013 in Linden, New Jersey, where newly produced high-quality lamps carry the Stiffel name.
Find a collection of vintage Stiffel lamps and other lighting for sale on 1stDibs.
You May Also Like
Vintage 1950s American Floor Lamps
Brass, Metal
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Floor Lamps
Brass
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Floor Lamps
20th Century North American Floor Lamps
Brass
Vintage 1940s American Floor Lamps
Brass
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Floor Lamps
Brass
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Floor Lamps
Brass
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Floor Lamps
Brass
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Floor Lamps
Brass
Vintage 1950s Danish Mid-Century Modern Floor Lamps
Opal, Brass
Recently Viewed
View AllRead More
This Paavo Tynell Chandelier Is a Radiant Bouquet
The alluring pendant light exemplifies the designer’s winsome mid-career work.
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.