Pair of Stiffel Nickel Plated and Painted Table Lamps, 1950s
View Similar Items
Pair of Stiffel Nickel Plated and Painted Table Lamps, 1950s
About the Item
Stiffel
When Ted Stiffel (1899–1971) founded Stiffel in 1932 in Chicago, he wanted to make functional, thoughtfully designed table 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 lighting on 1stDibs.
- Pair of Nickel Stiffel LampsBy StiffelLocated in Palm Springs, CAA pair of Mid Century Stiffel lamps newly plated in nickel and rewired with French braid wire. in the style of Tommi Parzinger.Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsNickel
$4,500 / set - Pair of Nickel Plated 1950's LampsBy StiffelLocated in Palm Springs, CAWonderful pair of Stiffel lamps newly plated in polished nickel. Modernist oil lamp form on four tapered legs. Newly rewired. Shades for display only.Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsNickel
$4,650 / set - 1950s Patinated Brass Stiffel Table LampsBy StiffelLocated in New York, NY1950s patinated brass tall table lamps by Stiffel. Height to light socket 31.5.Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsBrass, Metal
$1,800 / set - Stiffel Fluted Walnut and Brass Table Lamp, 1950sBy StiffelLocated in New York, NYTable lamp with four-point base in fluted walnut and brass by Stiffel, 1950s.Category
Vintage 1950s American Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsBrass
- Pair of Hollywood Regency Polished Nickel Lamps by StiffelBy StiffelLocated in New York, NYStately pair of polished nickel stylized urn form lamps with Greek Key patterned bases, Designed by Stiffel. Shades not included.Category
20th Century American Hollywood Regency Table Lamps
MaterialsNickel
- Rare 1950s Stiffel Black Lacquer and Brass Suspension Table LampBy StiffelLocated in Chicago, ILRare 1950s Stiffel suspension table lamp. Four brass rods with ball finials support a black lacquered cup with internal light socket. Original off-white la...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsMetal, Brass
$2,062 Sale Price25% Off
