Mid-Century Modern Lanterns
Organically shaped, clean-lined and elegantly simple are three terms that well describe mid-century modern American furniture. The style, which emerged primarily in the years following World War II, is characterized by pieces that were conceived and made in an energetic, optimistic spirit by creators who believed that good design was an essential part of good living.
Postwar American architects and designers were animated by new ideas and new technology. The lean, functionalist “International Style” architecture of Le Corbusier and Bauhaus eminences such as Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Walter Gropius had been promoted in the United States during the ’30s by Philip Johnson and others. New building techniques, such as “post-and-beam” construction, allowed the International-style schemes to be realized on a small scale, in open-plan houses with long walls of glass.
Materials developed for wartime use became available for domestic goods and were incorporated into mid-century modern furniture designs. Charles and Ray Eames and Eero Saarinen, who had experimented extensively with molded plywood, eagerly embraced fiberglass for, respectively, pieces such as the La Chaise and the Womb chair. George Nelson and his design team created Bubble lamp shades using a new translucent polymer skin. Harry Bertoia and Isamu Noguchi devised chairs and tables built of wire mesh and wire struts. Materials were re-purposed: the Danish-born designer Jens Risom created a line of chairs that used surplus parachute straps for webbed seats and backrests.
As the demand for casual, uncluttered furnishings grew, more mid-century designers caught the spirit.
Classically-oriented creators such as Edward Wormley, house designer for Dunbar Inc., offered such pieces as the sinuous Listen to Me chaise; the British expatriate T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings switched gears, creating items such as the tiered, biomorphic Mesa table. There were Young Turks such as Paul McCobb — who designed holistic groups of sleek, blonde-wood furniture — and Milo Baughman, who espoused a West Coast aesthetic in lushly upholstered chairs and sofas with angular steel frames.
As the collection of vintage mid-century modern American furniture on 1stDibs demonstrates, this period saw one of the most delightful and dramatic flowerings of creativity in design history.
1950s French Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lanterns
Brass, Steel
1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lanterns
Metal
1970s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lanterns
Brass
Mid-19th Century Danish Antique Mid-Century Modern Lanterns
Brass
1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lanterns
Brass
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Lanterns
Brass
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Lanterns
Metal
1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lanterns
Chrome
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Lanterns
Bamboo, Rattan
20th Century Spanish Mid-Century Modern Lanterns
Wicker, Rattan
21st Century and Contemporary Mexican Mid-Century Modern Lanterns
Copper
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Lanterns
Polyester
1950s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lanterns
Walnut, Plastic
1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lanterns
Brass
1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lanterns
Brass
2010s Italian Mid-Century Modern Lanterns
Brass
Mid-20th Century European Mid-Century Modern Lanterns
Cut Glass
1980s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lanterns
Brass
1970s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lanterns
Iron
Mid-20th Century Dutch Mid-Century Modern Lanterns
Metal
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Lanterns
Wire
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Lanterns
Glass, Blown Glass
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Lanterns
Brass
1940s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lanterns
Brass
1990s American Mid-Century Modern Lanterns
Brass, Nickel
1980s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lanterns
Murano Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Mexican Mid-Century Modern Lanterns
Ceramic
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Lanterns
Wire
1970s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lanterns
Art Glass, Murano Glass
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Lanterns
Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary Mexican Mid-Century Modern Lanterns
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Mexican Mid-Century Modern Lanterns
Copper
1970s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lanterns
Blown Glass
Mid-20th Century French Mid-Century Modern Lanterns
Brass
1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lanterns
Aluminum, Nickel
21st Century and Contemporary American Mid-Century Modern Lanterns
Brass
1970s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lanterns
Blown Glass
20th Century Spanish Mid-Century Modern Lanterns
Wrought Iron, Iron
1940s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lanterns
Murano Glass
1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lanterns
Brass
1980s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lanterns
Brass
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Lanterns
Metal
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Lanterns
Iron
1950s German Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lanterns
Metal
Mid-20th Century German Mid-Century Modern Lanterns
Brass
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Lanterns
Bamboo, Wicker, Cane, Rattan
20th Century French Mid-Century Modern Lanterns
Bamboo, Cane, Rattan
21st Century and Contemporary American Mid-Century Modern Lanterns
Brass
Mid-20th Century English Mid-Century Modern Lanterns
Nickel
1980s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lanterns
Brass
Mid-20th Century Austrian Mid-Century Modern Lanterns
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary American Mid-Century Modern Lanterns
Glass
1950s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lanterns
Crystal, Brass, Bronze
1960s American Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lanterns
Metal, Brass
1960s Italian Vintage Mid-Century Modern Lanterns
Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary American Mid-Century Modern Lanterns
Brass
Mid-20th Century French Mid-Century Modern Lanterns
Wire
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Lanterns
Metal, Brass