A History of Tiffany Lamps
Tiffany lamps, known for their colorful lead glass shades and bronze bases, originated in the New York studios of Louis comfort Tiffany. Here, the son of the Charles Tiffany, founder of Tiffany & Co. Jewelers, manufactured his lamps from the 1880's to 1924. After starting his vocation as an interior designer for the wealthiest of New York society, he changed his focus over the years to producing works of art on a smaller scale along with his lamps, Favrile glass, and later, jewelry.
Before 1890 Tiffany table lamps, chandeliers, and sconces were practice made for individual homes, buildings, and churches. They were assembled from a composition of commercially manufactured parts and those which Tiffany had made. These Tiffany lamps were "fuel lamps" which burned oil and were undoubtedly recognizable by their round glass bases.
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As the years passed the lamps became more uniquely Tiffany works of art. He was able, with the opportunity of his Corona glass installation in 1892, to fabricate colored lead glass to his specifications. His lamps then began to take on the customary nature themes and intense use of color seen in later years.
It was not until the introduction of "electroliers" that Tiffany Lamps ultimately assumed their customary vertical shape as the round glass bases were substituted by vertical bronze. In Tiffany's 1898 list many lamps were "available in oil or electric." In addition many Tiffany table lamps, hanging shades and wall sconces were designed specifically for electricity.
By the end of the nineteenth century many of Tiffany's lamps had become more intricate in design. His bronze casting agency created bases with leaves, feathers and wildlife. The colorful leaded glass shades particularly reflected Tiffany's love for flowers, fauna, vines, trees and shrubs, and wetlands.
With the galvanic lighting now available from Thomas Edison's Pearl road Power Station, the popularity of galvanic light grew quickly. Though some habitancy resisted change, since for them gas lighting still held some romance. Poets wrote unfavorably about galvanic lighting and one critics said of Tiffany's colorful wall sconces in New York's Lyceum Theater, "Who but Mr. Tiffany could have dribbled melted lead so frantically over pieces of parti-colored glass like those blue bull's eyes with galvanic light behind them?"
However, progress was sweeping the country, and the wedding of leaded glass and galvanic light was already a sure thing-by 1899 half the Tiffany table lamps shown at the Grofton Galleries London exhibition were electric. Also at this time sublime styles like the Tiffany Dragonfly, the Pond Lily, Butterfly, and Nautilus substituted substituted the older, one piece "favrile" glass shades.
By 1903 the place of Tiffany Lamps in the new galvanic age, and in the world of art, had been assured. The Art Interchange's July issue showed pictures of the new Wisteria lamp, seen for the first time and commented, "To the far-famed Tiffany ateliers of New York must the rest of the world come for what is rare and gorgeous in the way of objects of every narrative to conduct galvanic light."
A History of Tiffany Lamps
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