Adjustable Desk Lamps
Vintage 1960s Swedish Scandinavian Modern Table Lamps
Brass
Mid-20th Century Finnish Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Brass, Chrome, Metal
Vintage 1960s German Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Metal, Chrome
Vintage 1960s German Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Metal, Chrome
20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Vintage 1930s English Industrial Table Lamps
Steel
20th Century French Table Lamps
Brass
Mid-20th Century English Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Metal
Vintage 1970s Slovenian Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Metal
Vintage 1950s American Table Lamps
Metal, Brass
Vintage 1930s English Art Deco Table Lamps
Chrome
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Metal
Mid-20th Century British Table Lamps
Brass
Vintage 1950s German Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Metal, Brass
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Aluminum, Steel
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Brass, Metal
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Brass, Metal
Vintage 1930s English Industrial Table Lamps
Enamel, Steel
Mid-20th Century French Provincial Table Lamps
Brass
20th Century American Industrial Table Lamps
Metal, Iron
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Metal, Chrome
20th Century American Industrial Table Lamps
Metal, Iron
20th Century American Table Lamps
Metal
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Metal, Chrome
Vintage 1960s Spanish Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Metal, Iron
Vintage 1960s Spanish Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Metal, Iron
Vintage 1960s German Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Aluminum, Steel
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Metal, Aluminum, Chrome
Vintage 1970s Italian Modern Table Lamps
Metal
Vintage 1930s English Bauhaus Table Lamps
Brass
Early 20th Century English Industrial Table Lamps
Brass
Mid-20th Century Industrial Table Lamps
Brass
Vintage 1950s Swiss Bauhaus Table Lamps
Metal, Nickel
Late 20th Century Italian Post-Modern Table Lamps
Metal
Vintage 1960s Art Deco Table Lamps
Brass
Late 20th Century British Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Metal
Vintage 1950s American Industrial Table Lamps
Metal, Wire
Vintage 1970s Italian Organic Modern Table Lamps
Metal, Nickel
Mid-20th Century European Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Chrome
Vintage 1970s American Table Lamps
Chrome
Vintage 1950s Swedish Scandinavian Modern Table Lamps
Brass
Vintage 1980s Taiwanese Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Metal
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Metal, Brass
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Metal, Enamel
20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Vintage 1930s German Table Lamps
Chrome, Metal
20th Century American Table Lamps
Metal
Vintage 1950s Table Lamps
Vintage 1970s Italian Space Age Table Lamps
Plastic
Early 20th Century Table Lamps
Metal
Early 20th Century American Arts and Crafts Table Lamps
Brass
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Chrome
Vintage 1970s French Table Lamps
Steel
Vintage 1950s Italian Table Lamps
Brass, Aluminum
Vintage 1950s Italian Table Lamps
Brass, Metal
Early 20th Century English Table Lamps
Brass
Vintage 1970s Belgian Minimalist Table Lamps
Stainless Steel
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Adjustable Desk Lamps For Sale on 1stDibs
How Much are Adjustable Desk Lamps?
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 ExpertApril 5, 2022Yes, the arc of the Flos Arco floor lamp is designed to allow you to adjust it with ease. Designed in 1962, this iconic style features telescoping detail built into the gracefully arched arm, making it simple to increase or decrease the height. Browse a collection of Flos Arco floor lamps on 1stDibs.
- What is the best desk lamp?1 Answer1stDibs ExpertOctober 26, 2021The best desk lamp is a matter of preference — the right fixture can help you work more efficiently while also reducing eye strain. LED desk lamps in the 2700K to 4500K color temperature range often provide a warm and pleasing light under which to work. Shop a collection of antique, vintage, and modern desk lamps from some of the world’s top dealers on 1stDibs.
- Who invented the desk lamp?1 Answer1stDibs ExpertMarch 22, 2024
No one knows for sure who invented the desk lamp, as many engineers worked on designs for lamps during the 1920s. Many experts cite the Anglepoise lamp, however, as the earliest iteration of the modern desk lamp. Since its 1934 debut, this ingenious task light has become one of the most celebrated examples of industrial design.
How the Anglepoise came to be is the stuff of design legend: In 1932, a vehicle-suspension engineer by the name of George Carwardine joined forces with a West Midlands springs manufacturer, Herbert Terry Sons, to create a mechanism by which opposed springs would, as Carwardine explained, exert a “unidirectional constant force” on a pivoted lever that could counteract the force of gravity.
This invention was not destined for an auto but for a lamp Carwardine was developing. The innovation would allow the piece’s articulated arm to be moved with ease to almost any position and remain there. As the product of engineering acumen rather than fashion, the Anglepoise soon became a favorite among modernist architects and designers, who interpreted it as “a machine for lighting,” just as Le Corbusier had reimagined the house as “a machine for living in.”
The Angelpoise's rivals include the 1930 Bestlite, which was one of the earliest Bauhaus-influenced designs, created by Robert Dudley Best, who had studied under Walter Gropius at the Bauhaus in Dessau. German modernist Karl Trabert’s 1930s desk lamp for Schanzenbach Co. was notable for its domed shade above a hinged arm.
Find vintage table lamps and other lighting on 1stDibs. - What is a good desk lamp?1 Answer1stDibs ExpertSeptember 28, 2021A good desk lamp is going to make a substantial difference in any home, office or studio. The ideal desk lamp should provide apt task lighting, be easy to use, and also be aesthetically pleasing. Find a wide range of unique and elegant desk lamps on 1stDibs today.
- What is the best LED desk lamp?1 Answer1stDibs ExpertOctober 5, 2021There are many types of best LED desk lamps for your home — it's really a matter of preference. On 1stDibs, there are modern, mid-century modern desk lamps and other lighting to choose from.
- 1stDibs ExpertApril 5, 2022British designer George Carwardine designed the Anglepoise desk lamp. Before creating the light fixture, he worked as an engineer designing automobile suspension systems. The first Anglepoise lamps debuted in 1931. You can find a variety of Anglepoise desk lamps on 1stDibs.
- 1stDibs ExpertApril 5, 2022The desk lamps with the green shade are called banker’s lamps. Banker’s lamps are green because it is believed the color helps to encourage concentration and is mentally soothing. It is also said that green helps with eye strain. You can shop a selection of banker’s lamps from some of the world’s top sellers on 1stDibs.
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These Designer Light Fixtures Are Total Scene Stealers
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My Father Was Obsessed with This French Art Deco Tiger Lamp
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Hans Bergström’s Monumental Chandeliers Are Made for Grand Spaces
Designed by a giant of Swedish lighting, the large-scale fixtures bring major drama.
This Paavo Tynell Chandelier Is a Radiant Bouquet
The alluring pendant light exemplifies the designer’s winsome mid-career work.
Ettore Sottsass Captures a Shooting Star in This Rare 1970s Floor Lamp
Before founding the Memphis Group, Sottsass bent the rules of lighting design with the wonderfully wavy Cometa.
You Don’t Need a Fictional Fairy to Get This Real Pinocchio Lamp
Warm chalet style meets cool Bauhaus functionality in Pietro Cascella’s cleverly carved creation.
Why Is Italy Such a Hotbed of Cool Design?
Patrizio Chiarparini of Brooklyn’s Duplex gallery sheds light on the lasting legacy of Italy’s postwar furniture boom.