Antique Stiffel Lamps

221 Ideas 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 Brass Accent Lamp with Fabric Drum Shade

Antique Stiffel lamps with column style base

Most expensive Stiffel lamps

Distressed Buffet Table Lamp Set

Stiffel lamp with empire shade

Classically styled table lamp with antique brass socket and finial complemented with large cream shade. 3-way switch function lets adjust the brightness to current user's needs, such as bright light for reading and soft dim light for cheerful mood.

Sleek Ceramic Table Lamp with USB Port

Vintage Mid Century Stiffel Candle French Bouillotte Table Lamp Brass Copper

This solid, brass table lamp represents what's best in vintage style. Coming from mid-century it shall interest especially antique lovers. It can be a good addition to your bedroom space, as well as living rooms or foyers.

Sleek Downward-Facing Small Lamp

Traditional Four-Light Floor Lamp

Swing Arm Table Lamp with Empire Shade

A wonderful base for a table lamp that is made of heavy, solid brass with a shiny finish in a twisted design. You can match almost any lamp shade here as a timeless look of the base will go well both with modern and traditional pieces.

Vintage stiffel mid century hollywood

A wonderful table lamp inspired by the Holywood of the 1950's. It's made of brass with a golden finish and subtle decorations in the middle. It will be a phenomenal accent of your room. It gives subtle, warm light.

Now that's what we call a unique lamp. This brass stiffel table lamp was made in the bouilette style. It carries an irresistible vintage appeal and ensures ultimate reliability – it's resistant to damage and time alike.

Petrarch Crystal Table Lamp

Polished Steel Floor Lamp

Pair of Stiffel Vintage Brass Lamps

Stiffel brass lamps with hourglass shade

Stiffel table lamps with candle style base

Vintage Charm Hand-Finished Furniture Collection

Stiffel lamps vintage for a warmer palette

Oak Nesting Side Tables with Storage

Stiffel brass lamp

Shoua Crystal Table Lamp

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Antique Stiffel Lamps

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Vanessa Weber Interior Design Expert

Vanessa is a New York–based architectural lighting designer and interior designer who helps homeowners and design enthusiasts understand how light can transform everyday spaces. With many years of experience across residential, corporate, and hospitality projects, she combines technical precision with a practical, real-world perspective. Her guidance empowers readers to make confident lighting choices that enhance comfort, atmosphere, and function in every room and outdoor area.

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.

What are the characteristic features of antique Stiffel lamps?

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.

How to identify an antique Stiffel lamp?

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.

What are Stiffel lamps crafted from?

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.