Lightolier Vitrolite Lamp
View Similar Items
Lightolier Vitrolite Lamp
About the Item
- Creator:Lightolier (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 18 in (45.72 cm)Diameter: 13 in (33.02 cm)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1951
- Condition:very good overall condition. Some minor imperfections to the shade. a few very light indentations that are not so noticeable. The lamp has been reduced due to this wear.
- Seller Location:Dallas, TX
- Reference Number:1stDibs: U1211108785594
Lightolier
Founded in 1904 in New York and family-operated through most of its history, Lightolier was one of the pioneering American electric lighting companies, best known for its embrace of stylistic and technical innovations.
Collectors focus on vintage Lightolier lighting fixtures produced from the 1950s and into the 1970s, when an in-house design team led by Gerald Thurston — and a stellar cast of international design contributors — created an array of practical yet aesthetically lively table lamps, floor lamps, sconces and chandeliers.
Amidst the post-World War II building boom, Lightolier — the name combines “light” and “chandelier” — aggressively boosted its residential lighting division. Thurston, who was strongly influenced by the sleek designs of Gino Sarfatti and his Italian lighting firm Arteluce, towards simpler lamp designs that offered flexibility of function. His best-known designs include the Cricket task light — a lamp with an adjustable enameled metal hood that toggles on a slender bent-metal base — and the three-legged Tripod floor lamp. At the same time, Thurston had a wonderful eye for talent and sought work from some of the lesser-known greats of the era, such as Paavo Tynell, the Finnish lighting designer, who designed several brass chandeliers for Lightolier with his trademark elegant flamboyance.
And more, Thurston recognized abilities in designers not known for their work in lighting.
Edward Wormley, head of furniture design for Dunbar, produced several noteworthy chandeliers employing canisters and reflective hoods. Alvin Lustig was famed as a graphic designer. His ca. 1953 Ring ceiling fixture for Lightolier had a minimalist techno look some 30 years ahead of its time. But this was par. Designed by Michael Lax in 1964, the Lytegem high-intensity lamp — included in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art — features a ball-shaped shade attached with a chromed armature to a cubic base, a form that would be widely copied in the following decade. Chandeliers designed in the early 1970s by Gaetano Sciolari, with details such as acrylic diffusers and vertical, two-bulb arms, would define the look of lighting in their day.
A look through these pages reveals just how astonishingly wide a range of lighting pieces Lightolier produced. The company never flicked off its stylistic switch.
Find a collection of vintage Lightolier lamps and other lighting fixtures on 1stDibs.
More From This Seller
View All21st Century and Contemporary Italian Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Brass, Chrome
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Aluminum, Brass
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Aluminum, Steel
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Brass
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Vintage 1980s Modern Table Lamps
Ceramic
You May Also Like
Vintage 1960s Mexican Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Metal
Vintage 1980s American Post-Modern Table Lamps
Metal
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Metal
Vintage 1970s American Modern Table Lamps
Metal
Vintage 1970s Bahamian Hollywood Regency Table Lamps
Crystal
1990s American Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Metal
