Bill Lam Molded Fiberglass Lite Table

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Bill Lam Molded Fiberglass Lite Table

About the Item

Drum-shaped lite table of molded fiberglass mounted on three solid birch legs, designed and produced circa 1950 by Asian/American architectural lighting designer Bill Lam. William M.C. (Bill) Lam (1924-2012) was born and raised in Hawaii, entering MIT in 1941 and graduating with a degree in architecture in 1949 after serving as a pilot in the Army Air Corps in WWII. Influenced by Alvar Aalto, and Charles Eames visiting professors at MIT, Lam established a small atelier, Lam Workshop, outside Boston in the late 1940’s, producing a series of his own lighting designs and a two-level cocktail table that gained widespread recognition in the national design press, earning MoMA Good Design selections in 1950 and 1951 as well as inclusion in close to 50 museum collections and exhibitions throughout the United States and distribution through Lightolier, Richards-Morgenthau (Raymor), Bloomingdale’s, Carroll Sagar, and numerous other showrooms and shops offering and promoting modern furnishings. His designs were merit specified for California Art & Architecture’s Case Study House program in 1950 (including the present design), featured in the Boston Institute of Contemporary Art’s Current Design quarterlies and in Furniture Forum, and were chosen by General Electric and Westinghouse for model homes to demonstrate how to use light to best advantage. Lam would cease producing these designs in the later 1950’s, shifting his attention to the design and manufacture of prefabricated architectural lighting systems along with consulting, teaching, and writing—he taught lighting design at Harvard and MIT and authored two influential books for the lighting design profession. The lite-table was one of the first consumer products made of fiberglass reinforced plastic—it was shown alongside the Eames/Evans plastic shell chair in period ads for the material. According to a blurb in a 1950 Interiors Magazine, it "gives off a soft, intimate glow [and] soap and water will remove most stains." Ref: Arts & Architecture, October 1950. Provenance: From the collection of an industrial designer who grew up in Lynn, MA, served in the Army Air Corps during WWII, then studied at Pratt in New York with Alexander Kostellow and Eva Zeisel, graduating in 1951 with a degree in Industrial Design. He purchased the lite-table, along with a (highly rare) cylindrical table lamp and tall tripod lantern, directly from Lam Workshop in Brookline, MA in 1952, at which time his in-laws also lived in Brookline, less than 2 miles away. Thence by descent to the present owner, who also retained the cylindrical lamp, which is being offered separately.

Creator:
Bill Lam (Designer)
Dimensions:
Height: 15.25 in (38.74 cm)Width: 15 in (38.1 cm)Depth: 15 in (38.1 cm)
Power Source:
Plug-in
Voltage:
110-150v
Style:
Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
Materials and Techniques:
Birch,Fiberglass
Place of Origin:
United States
Period:
1950-1959
Date of Manufacture:
circa 1950
Condition:
Rewired: The original plastic housing has been newly rewired. Wear consistent with age and use. Minor structural damages. Good structural condition with light surface scratching and some areas of discoloration to the fiberglass. Wear consistent with age and use throughout. No attempt has been made to clean the lamp in order to retain the original patina and character.
Seller Location:
New York, NY
Reference Number:
1stDibs: LU828534271872