A Mid Century Pair of Torchiere Table Lamps by Stiffel
View Similar Items
A Mid Century Pair of Torchiere Table Lamps by Stiffel
About the Item
- Creator:Stiffel (Maker)
- Dimensions:Height: 40 in (101.6 cm)Diameter: 8 in (20.32 cm)
- Sold As:Set of 2
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:c. 1960s
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:Astoria, NY
- Reference Number:Seller: S110KW1stDibs: 14021288933618
Stiffel
When Ted Stiffel (1899–1971) founded Stiffel in 1932 in Chicago, he wanted to make functional, thoughtfully designed table lamps, floor 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 lamps and other lighting for sale on 1stDibs.
More From This Seller
View AllMid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Metal
20th Century Minimalist Table Lamps
Concrete
2010s American Table Lamps
Ceramic
Early 20th Century Victorian Table Lamps
Rosewood
21st Century and Contemporary Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Chrome
Antique 19th Century Modern Table Lamps
Metal
You May Also Like
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Metal
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Metal, Brass
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Metal, Brass
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Brass
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Brass
