French Kerosene Lamps
Antique Late 19th Century French Chinese Export Table Lamps
Bronze
Antique Late 19th Century French Napoleon III Table Lamps
Bronze
Antique 19th Century French Renaissance Table Lamps
Antique 19th Century French French Provincial Posters
Paper
Antique Late 19th Century Victorian Garniture
Ceramic
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Antique 19th Century English Victorian Table Lamps
Porcelain, Parchment Paper
Antique 19th Century Victorian Table Lamps
Alabaster, Bronze
Antique Early 19th Century American Federal End Tables
Mahogany
Antique Early 19th Century Victorian Table Lamps
Brass
Early 20th Century British Art Nouveau Table Lamps
Brass, Spelter
Antique 1860s English Victorian Table Lamps
Brass
Vintage 1910s American Art Nouveau Table Lamps
Bronze
Antique 19th Century English Victorian Table Lamps
Brass
Antique 19th Century English Victorian Table Lamps
Brass
Antique 1890s English Victorian Floor Lamps
Brass
Antique Late 19th Century European Table Lamps
Metal
Antique 1880s British High Victorian Floor Lamps
Elm, Satinwood
Vintage 1960s American Table Lamps
Bronze
Early 20th Century American Victorian Table Lamps
Brass
Antique 19th Century English Victorian Table Lamps
Silver Plate
Early 20th Century Italian Rococo Pedestals
Giltwood, Paint
Recent Sales
Antique 19th Century French Table Lamps
Antique 1870s French Napoleon III Table Lamps
Porcelain
Antique Late 19th Century European Napoleon III Table Lamps
Porcelain
Antique 1870s French Napoleon III Table Lamps
Porcelain
Antique Late 19th Century French Art Nouveau Chandeliers and Pendants
Brass, Bronze
Early 20th Century French Table Lamps
Onyx, Bronze
Antique 1880s French Art Nouveau Table Lamps
Bronze
Antique Late 19th Century French Art Nouveau Table Lamps
Bronze
Early 20th Century French Table Lamps
Onyx, Bronze
Antique Early 1900s French Art Nouveau Table Lamps
Bronze
Antique 1870s French Aesthetic Movement Jars
Pottery
Antique 19th Century French Floor Lamps
Wrought Iron
Antique 1850s French Empire Table Lamps
Bronze
Vintage 1960s French Jugendstil Table Lamps
Brass
Vintage 1960s French Jugendstil Table Lamps
Brass
Antique 19th Century French Empire Table Lamps
Tôle
Vintage 1970s French Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Metal
Antique Late 19th Century French Lanterns
Metal, Brass, Copper
Antique 1880s French Napoleon III Chandeliers and Pendants
Brass, Bronze
20th Century French Table Lamps
Bronze, Tôle
Finding the Right table-lamps for You
Well-crafted antique and vintage table lamps do more than provide light; the right fixture-and-table combination can add a focal point or creative element to any interior.
Proper table lamps have long been used for lighting our most intimate spaces. Perfect for lighting your nightstand or reading nook, table lamps play an integral role in styling an inviting room. In the years before electricity, lamps used oil. Today, a rewired 19th-century vintage lamp can still provide a touch of elegance for a study.
After industrial milestones such as mass production took hold in the Victorian era, various design movements sought to bring craftsmanship and innovation back to this indispensable household item. Lighting designers affiliated with Art Deco, which originated in the glamorous roaring ’20s, sought to celebrate modern life by fusing modern metals with dark woods and dazzling colors in the fixtures of the era. The geometric shapes and gilded details of vintage Art Deco table lamps provide an air of luxury and sophistication that never goes out of style.
After launching in 1934, Anglepoise lamps soon became a favorite among modernist architects and designers, who interpreted the fixture as “a machine for lighting,” just as Le Corbusier had reimagined the house as “a machine for living in.” The popular task light owed to a collaboration between a vehicle-suspension engineer by the name of George Carwardine and a West Midlands springs manufacturer, Herbert Terry & Sons.
Some mid-century modern table lamps, particularly those created by the likes of Joe Colombo and the legendary lighting artisans at Fontana Arte, bear all the provocative hallmarks associated with Space Age design. Sculptural and versatile, the Louis Poulsen table lamps of that period were revolutionary for their time and still seem innovative today.
If you are looking for something more contemporary, industrial table lamps are demonstrative of a newly chic style that isn’t afraid to pay homage to the past. They look particularly at home in any rustic loft space amid exposed brick and steel beams.
Before you buy a desk lamp or table lamp for your living room, consider your lighting needs. The Snoopy lamp, designed in 1967, or any other “banker’s lamp” (shorthand for the Emeralite desk lamps patented by H.G. McFaddin and Company), provides light at a downward angle that is perfect for writing, while the Fontana table lamp and the beloved Grasshopper lamp by Greta Magnusson-Grossman each yield a soft and even glow. Some table lamps require lampshades to be bought separately.
Whether it’s a classic antique Tiffany table lamp, a Murano glass table lamp or even a bold avant-garde fixture custom-made by a contemporary design firm, the right table lamp can completely transform a room. Find the right one for you on 1stDibs.
- 1stDibs ExpertFebruary 22, 2021The safest way to burn a kerosene lamp is outdoors, but if you do want to use one inside, opt for K-1 kerosene in an indoor-specific lamp. Do not burn red kerosene in an indoor lamp because the fumes from the red dye can be toxic to inhale.
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