THE HISTORY OF TIFFANY LAMPS

Guest Post for Tiffany Lamps Blog

Born in 1848, Louis Comfort Tiffany was a well know New York decorative artist who is most commonly associated with the Art Nouveau movement and the creation of stained glass windows, glass mosaics, ceramics, leaded lamp shades and even jewellery.

Louis was the son of the founder of the famous Tiffany jewellers founded in 1837 which would of have a great influence on him.   He started his famous Tiffany Glass Company in 1885 which later became the Tiffany Studios and the source of many of the famous designs you see reproduced today including the famous Dragonfly designs.

Tiffany’s favoured nature themes in his designs and some of his most popular lamps shades are based peacocks, bats, dragonflies, trees in blossom, trailing flowers and brilliant blooms. The stained glass were worked to provide strong contrasts whilst the bases are formed like tree trunks, roots or lily pads, each combining with the other to form a stunning and satisfying whole.

Many of the outstanding Tiffany lighting designs produced at Tiffany Studios were by women. Perhaps the best known, the dragonfly Tiffany lampshade was designed by Clara Driscoll in 1900, whilst the wisteria Tiffany lamp with its random edged shade and multicoloured mosaic intricately leaded, was the work of Mrs. Curtis Freschel in 1902.

Originally designed to be fuelled by Oil you find many of the earlier Tiffany Lamps contain a fuel base, Tiffany was well placed however to take advantage of the move to electricity and soon produced models powered by electricity.

The 1st world war saw the production of glass shades reduced significantly at the Tiffany Studios so the factory could be used for producing war supplies, production soon restarted afterwards but there was a change in taste after the war and production of glass shades stopped around 1924 with the studios moving into other designs before eventually closing down in 1932.   Louis Comfort Tiffany died the following year but his designs are still popular today.

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THE SECRET TO TIFFANY LAMPS

Guest Post for the Tiffany Lamps Blog

The Tiffany Glass Company was established in 1885 with the first commercially produced Tiffany Lamps dating at around 1895.  While many other items from the Tiffany Interiors range have faded from popularity why does demand for these lamps continue over a century after their initial conception?

It is not that the designs of the lamps themselves are unique.  The same flowing curves and natural influences are littered throughout the Art Nouveau movement which inspired Louis Comfort Tiffany and Clara Driscoll to their designs.  Even before this particular art movement what makes these lamps different from those stained glass designs found in churches across the world?

The secret of the lamp is not in its design although if the design did not appeal people would not buy the lamp, but in the materials used in production.  While the designs followed the Art Nouveau conventions the pioneering production method is what sets Tiffany Lamps apart from its competitors as a brand and that had contributed to its timeless appeal.

This method of production that sets Tiffany Lamps apart from its competitors is known as ‘Foiling’.  This delicate and time consuming work refers to the process of wrapping a thin layer copper foil around the edge of each cut glass piece before transferring these pieces to the soldering room.

This was not an easy task as the foil had to be beaten into a sheet that remained durable whilst also remaining thin enough to work with.  By using copper foil rather than the traditional lead setting the glass pieces could be set closer together allowing more intricate designs using smaller pieces of glass to be used without damaging the glass or overwhelming the pieces with a mass of lead resulting in a more colourful and appealing lamp, the secret to the enduring appeal of the Tiffany Lamp.

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