Janakos Company Furniture

Black and white lithograph by Herman Roderick Volz of 3 standing figures, Circa 1960's. Pencil signed. Unframed. Works held: National Gallery of Art. Crystal Bridges Museum of Art...

Historic photograph of the first mayor of San Francisco, California after the 1906 earthquake. Edward Robeson Taylor (September 24, 1838 – July 5,...

Large folio limited edition No. 4/25 woodcut print by Herman Roderick Volz. Depicting 3 youths standing at a brick wall. Mid 20th century. Image measures 29.75"H 15.63"W. Folio measu...

Early 20th century Arts & Crafts era ceramic poly-chrome table lamp by Amphora. Two sided decoration depicting The Harvest on one side and a forest scene verso. Matt glaze with soft,...

A polished brass pendant chandelier by Lightolier. Designed with 5 concentric, brushed brass louvers over a polished brass metal domed shade. Concentric bands allow filtered upward l...

A whimsical, kitschy 1950s hula dancer lamp holding a basket of faux flowers. Constructed of rope, grass and wood. Hand painted. Complete and working.

Late 20th century abstract oil painting depicting birds in a tree by California artist Peter Lowe. Highly textured painting on canvas. Mounted in original solid wood rustic frame. Si...

Abstract pastel painting on canvas, late 20th century. Pencil signed on verso, signature undecipherable. Mounted in oak frame. Measures: 38.88" H, 4...

A Mid-Century Modern waste basket attributed to Paul Frankl. Made of combed fir with a conical four sided rectangular design. This item was acquire...

High relief, stylized figurative wall art panel in solid mahogany. Hand carved and crafted by Edison Luiz Fagundes de Castro AKA "Edison Lufaac". Born 1952, Brazil. Signed and dated ...

1930s pointillism style still life painting depicting pottery vessels. Original gold leaf, museum quality frame. Deep, rich color palette. Laura Mills was a tennis pro in the 1920s i...

Abstract woodblock by California Artist Herman Roderick Volz. Figure with stringed musical instrument. Unframed. Acquired directly from the estate o...

An art glass table lamp by Marbro Lamp Company. Asymmetrical folding glass detail, gold leaf wood base. Original working condition. Retains "Marbro" paper label. No shade. Glass port...

A Mid-Century Modern Brutalist wall sculpture by San Francisco based artist Shuko Kobayashi. Appears to be a resin casting mounted to a wood frame and backing. Signed lower left corn...

Original California Post-Impressionist oil painting titled by Fred Korburg. Titled "Boat Yard" China Beach, Monterey, California. Nautical theme with docs, boat, beach, figures and building. Signed lower left corner and titled on verso. Painted on reverse masonite. Original frame. Painting without frame measures 20" H x 24" W. Born in Grenaa, Denmark on Nov. 22, 1896. Frederic Korburg studied at the Graphic Art Center in Copenhagen and at the Academy of Fine Arts in Hamburg, Germany under Max Lieberman. After coming to California in 1920, he further studied with Armin Hansen...

1950s painting depicting the California School of Fine Art in San Francisco in 1953. Dakin was a student of this school. Notice California Art Tile...

Exceptional ceramic tile wall plaque / sculpture with various geometric pattern and multi-color, crystalline crackle glaze tiles. Tiles mounted to original wood back. Identified on v...

Original painting by California Artist Robert L. Foster. Painted on reverse Masonite with original vintage frame. Depicting a cattle drive with a cowboy on horse with lasso. Robert L. Foster: Welcome to Robert Foster...

A Marbro turned green glass table lamp retaining its original lamp shade with Greek key design. Excellent original condition. Base measures 7' diameter. Marbro Lamp Company The company was founded by Morris Markoff and his brother, hence the name Marbro from Markoff brothers. They started the company shortly after WWII. The company was located in a 3 story brick building in the garment district of Los Angeles, just south of Downtown right by the Santa Monica Freeway. During the time they ran the company, they sold almost as many antiques as they did lamps. They also had a sizeable business in decorative accessories such as tables and a lot of animal figurines. There were quite a few dog figurines that were life-size. One dog figurine was a life-size Great Dane purchased by the actor Jack Webb who starred as Sgt. Joe Friday in the 1951 TV hit series, Dragnet. There were quite a few celebrities that came in to their shop. One actress who shopped there repeatedly was Deborah Shelton who at the time played the part of “Mandy” on the TV series Dallas (remember J.R.). Marbro sold their products mainly through interior designers and a few upscale furniture stores. You would not find a Marbro product in a chain furniture store or a discount store. Most of the products were built to order. A typical order from a designer or retailer took between 75 and 90 days to complete. Most of the components that made up the lamp bodies (ceramic, brass, glass, etc) were purchased from small companies around the world. In the later years almost all of the brass came from India. For the most part, none of the bodies were made on site. Marbro was well-known for importing a variety of unique lighting components from all-over the world. Italy was the source for alabaster, Japan and China for Porcelain, Brass in India and Crystal from Germany and France. Lamps would also be made from sculptures that customers brought to in to the shop. Once the lamp bodies arrived, a group of Marbro employees would make the wood bases, spin the metal caps, make the shades, and do the painting and tinting. With the help of about 20-40 other true world class artisans, metal workers, finishers and handmade shade makers, they produced lamps and shades that were truly some of last of their kind of art. For example, Marbro brass was never just plain brass. It was stained with a tinting that was homemade and kept secret by the company which is reminiscent of the Handel Lamp Co. of the early 1900s. There were quite a few of these preparations all kept in one of those little metal boxes on a 3 x 5” file card just like a recipe. It was truly a unique method of making lamps. Many of the lamp bodies that the company bought were not exactly matched as pairs. Sometimes 10-20 crystal vases would have to be sorted through to get 2 of the exact same height so that if the lamps were purchased as a pair, they would match. All of the shades were made by hand by a group of women on the second floor of the building with very little automation. The manufacturing plant was closed in Los Angeles in December 1990 and the inventory and equipment were moved to Labarge Mirrors in Holland, Michigan. At the time Labarge Mirrors was a Masco Corp subsidiary. Some time later, the Marbro product line was discontinued. Eventually, Masco sold most of their home furnishings manufacturing holdings. Marbo assembled a very talented, experienced and unique group of artists and craftsmen and many of their Fine lamps exhibit a certain unique signature style. Most of the employees were in their 50’s and older. There were quite a few employees in their late 1960s and 1970s. Today their lamps are collectible and sought after especially by certain knowledgeable collectors who are familiar with the company's lamps and history. Many of Marbro lamp are commonly referred to as “Hollywood Regency” style. This rather lavish style of decorative arts is currently in the midst of a tremendous and accelerating revival. It is obvious from the company's careful selection of art objects and their unique proprietary methods of lamp making that their goal was to design beautiful unique and very high quality lamps. Their success is obvious from the very Fine collectible Marbro lamps that are still sought after today. Marbro lamps present a particular appraisal Challenge due to their very unique style and market conditions. Generally, there are fewer collectors of Marbro lamps as compared to many other lamp companies of the 1900 - 1950’s era. This in no way devalues your lamp but implies a special category of a more limited number of buyers and collectors. During the 1950s, Marbro sold to many very affluent customers including movie stars and others connected to the film industry. Their lamps were considered very exclusive and definitley high end for that period. The key to selling vintage Marbro lamps...

A canary yellow 5-light chandelier or pendant light by Lightolier. Can be installed as a pendant light with use of 8 foot chair or shortened to hang as a chandelier with desired depth achieved by shorting chain. Excellent original condition. Retains Lightolier paper label. Nice! Milk glass globes measure 6" diameter. Yellow chandelier...

Striking and large woodblock print by Herman Roderick Volz. (1904-1990) Three standing figures. Pencil signed and numbered 13/35. Image only mea...