Antique Stiffel Lamps
Buy the best antique stiffel lamps selected and recommended by interior designers. By Vanessa Weber.
For a classic way to give your room a glow, an antique stiffel lamp is just the ticket. Cast in steel with a brushed metal exterior, the antique sheen gives these lamps a quality that adds charm to any room. Throw on an ornate lamp shade and let these beautiful pieces keep your home lit for years. Check out this extensive collection and pick a couple antique stiffel lamps for your home.
Antique Stiffel Lamps
Buying Guide
Vanessa Weber
Interior Design Expert
Vanessa is a New York-based designer specializing in architectural lighting. Whether you are planning an event, want to illuminate your backyard retreat or simply need advice on what lamp to purchase for your bedroom, Vanessa will be more than happy to share her knowledge and expertise.
In 1932, Ted Stiffel founded the Stiffel Lamp Company. Until that time, except for Tiffany lamps, table lamps were simply functional. Electric lighting had improved the ability to see but had not yet provided something attractive to look at. Mr. Stiffel changed that.
Stiffel lamps were about 30” tall with shade included. They often had a slender stem, an attractive, understated shade, and would not look out of place in any room. They frequently used metal as the base part of the design. The metals could be brass, bronze, brushed copper, or black and white enamel. A few were made from high-quality wood.
- Shade
Identifying a Stiffel shade is easy if the label has been left intact. Frequently made from silk shantung from China, the lamps usually had a small brass label reading “Stiffel Lamp Company” or simply “Stiffel” located inside the shade.
- Weight
One distinctive aspect of Stiffel lamps, as opposed to cheap imitations, is the weight. Made from genuine metals, the lamps were heavy, making them difficult to knock over or displace. Each lamp design was an artwork that could grace any living room or bedroom.
- The Switch
Stiffel held the patent on a distinctive type of light switch. Rather than a button or a knob, the user could gently grasp the stem or upright part of the lamp and pull down to turn the light on or off. Ted Stiffel held the patent for this type of light switch until the 1960s when he lost the court battle over the patent.
- Further Identifiers
Stiffel lamps are also marked on the bottom of the base. Sometimes the green felt on the bottom of the lamp would hide the label, but if you carefully unscrew the base, you can find the plaque or find etched in the metal the words “Stiffel,” “Stiffel Lamp Company” or SLC in the base.
To identify Stiffel lamps, look for the labels – Stiffel, Stiffel Lamp Company or SLC, located in the base of the lamp. But more than that, look for slender, graceful stems supporting tall shades to create a lamp of some height. Stiffel Lamp Company also produced some pole lamps, which had the distinctive pull stem switch.
Stiffel lamps were made using a variety of materials that included bronze, brass, pewter, and silver. Finishes included brushed, polished and antique brass, polished nickel or silver, or a combination of silver and black. A few were gunmetal gray, Roman bronze or burnt umber.
Most of all, look for quality. The Stiffel lamps were heavy, made of real metal or distinctive grades of wood, and they were carefully weighted to prevent tipping. Like many antiques, they were built to be beautiful and to last. In a world that was already running to art deco designs and making money by using cheap, flashy materials the Stiffel lamps stood out as quality products that exhibited quality workmanship. Regardless of your overall décor, if you can find a Stiffel lamp, it is a treasure worth hanging onto.