Just bought a pair of lamps

ecs1112 · Post by **ecs1112** » Tue Aug 13, 2019 1:36 pm

Hi all,

I know it is a stretch but I just purchased two lamps that look to be one-of-a-kind in a mid-century FLW-esque style. They are made of wood and brass with the base painted black. They are very tall with spindle tops and the shades held on by light socket. Each lamp has on-off switches on the base. I was wondering if anyone would know anything about who made them or somewhere I could go to get them looked at.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/zhijiv3057tqc ... F.JPG?dl=0

toddlevin · Post by **toddlevin** » Tue Aug 13, 2019 2:51 pm

Nothing remotely 'Wright' about this pair of lamps. A lovely, but unremarkable design. You might try poking around on Etsy or 1stdibs, perhaps... t

SDR · Post by **SDR** » Tue Aug 13, 2019 7:02 pm

Yup ... and nope. Deco in natural wood is unusual, granted ...

Thanks for the peek !

S

Reidy · Post by **Reidy** » Tue Aug 13, 2019 10:24 pm

The cantilever is reminiscent of the familiar Taliesin table lamp, which may have been this designer's inspiration.

SDR · Post by **SDR** » Tue Aug 13, 2019 10:46 pm

The shade and finial are pure '40s Hollywood. I'm trying to read the side trim to the upright; is it brass ?

The switch placement is hokey---but practical. Why not center it ?

S

Roderick Grant · Post by **Roderick Grant** » Wed Aug 14, 2019 10:34 am

The toggle switches and shades supported by the light socket suggest that these lamps date back further than midcentury. I would hesitate to call them Deco of any sort, however.

peterm · Post by **peterm** » Wed Aug 14, 2019 11:07 am

IÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ve never seen a design like this from the 30s or 40s. I would guess 1960s 70s Danish, or homemade California woodworker studio craft made. Or maybe Wharton Esherick school. That could explain the rather crude hardware store toggle switch and simple hanging shade.

Are they redwood or teak (or?) (Redwood is extremely light in weight).

SDR · Post by **SDR** » Wed Aug 14, 2019 11:46 am

"homemade California woodworker studio craft" seems about right. The forms are quirky, the proportions odd---one wonders if those are the original shades;
they seem too small for everything else.

The finials are the Hollywood part, for me; the brass decoration rules out Esherick or any other serious designer. I made a table-top candelabra in summer
camp wood shop (age 12) that had a stacked-block base like this one. Combining squared-off base with curvy upper parts just isn't Kosher ...

For the record that's probably a twist switch.

S

peterm · Post by **peterm** » Wed Aug 14, 2019 11:49 am

Twist, yes.

Nonetheless, the Wright inspiration is apparent. The stepped base evokes the Fallingwater bedside lamp, the cantilever, the Taliesin table lamp.

A pleasant design by a Wright fan? IÃ¢â‚¬â„¢m seen plenty of things more awkward than these.

Roderick Grant · Post by **Roderick Grant** » Wed Aug 14, 2019 12:17 pm

When researching the Hollyhock living room couch/table/torchiers, we found that the lamps at the top, aimed at the ceiling, were operated by toggle switches. I was in favor of repeating them, even if they were not attached. Ginny said toggle switches (and one might infer twist) on wood fixtures would not meet code. That suggests that these lamps may indeed have been conceived in someone's garage.

SDR · Post by **SDR** » Wed Aug 14, 2019 12:45 pm

In my experience twist switches of the kind usually found on lamps (light fixtures) are more difficult to operate than toggle switches---especially as they
age---in part because the grasped part is so small in diameter. Toggle switches are much less common; if they are not too stiffly sprung, they work well--
unless the fixture is so light in weight that it moves when operating the switch, not an issue with the rotary switch.

S