The Tiffany Lamp (1893) And The Anglepoise Lamp (1932) : A Study Of Form And Function

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Fig 1. Wisteria Tiffany Lamp, Louis Comfort Tiffany (1893) Fig 2. Anglepoise Lamp model 1227, George Carwardine(1932) The study of the Wisteria Tiffany lamp (1893) designed by Clara Driscoll working under Louis Comfort Tiffany, and the Anglepoise lamp (1932) designed by George Carwardine, focuses on the comparison between the form and function of the two lamps with relation to their social context, designer background and cultural impact.

The Art Nouveau movement in the early 1900’s was a direct reaction against industrial production and placed emphasis on a return to handcrafted traditions. Produced at the peak of Art Nouveau, Tiffany lamps mimicked design influenced by nature. Industrial design as a profession surfaced during the 1930’s as products needed to be simple and affordable enough to mass produce. The Anglepoise lamps show the modernist interest in fulfilling the needs of its time.

The designers of both the lamps integrated the knowledge of their strikingly different professions with the form and function of their lamps in interesting and original ways. Louis Tiffany created favrile glass and copper foil technique of wrapping edges of glass in thin copper foil, both were used in making the lampshade of Tiffany lamps (RichmanAbdou, 2018). Clara Driscoll, who worked in the Tiffany company , designed various lamps like the Wisteria Lamp by creating elegant mosaics of glass (The Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art, n.d.). George Carwardine was an automobile designer who specialised in vehicle suspension systems (Icon, 2020). While experimenting with this mechanism, he came up with the idea to create a suspended movable lamp shade, creating the Anglepoise lamp.

Bibliography

Anglepoise Support. (2020, December 4). How to date my Anglepoise. https://support. anglepoise.com/hc/en-gb/ articles/360022921093-How-canI-date-my-vintage-or-currentAnglepoise-lampThe lamp shade (44 cm in diameter) of the Tiffany Wisteria desk lamp is crafted using opalescent mosaic glasses, whose overall height is around 75cm. A heavy bronze base nearly half the diameter of the shade increases its weight, giving it a sturdy base (Internet archives wayback machine, 2009). It is more suited as a decorative lamp in the living room or

the bedroom. The Anglepoise lamp is smaller compared to it (60 cm in height). It is made using industrial metals like steel, aluminium and brass, making it more durable and lightweight. With a base of only 13 cm, it can be easily accommodated on a crowded work desk, making it more effective as a study lamp. Though it looks less colourful than the Wisteria lamp, it provides much brighter and intense light. A direct impact of the materials used is seen on the durability. The Tiffany lamp is more prone to breaking as it uses favrile glass. While the Anglepoise lamp, made of steel, has been said to work even after a crash landing in the water (The design museum, 2017).

Tiffany lamps originally functioned with turn-paddle knob sockets and few had pull chains for switching on lights which were used at the time of early electrification. (Biltmore loan & jewellery, 2022). The Anglepoise lamps, made in the 1930’s, when electricity was more common in households, were manufactured with electric switches for use as a workstation lamp,

The Tiffany lamp doesn’t allow free movement as seen in the Anglepoise lamp, which is based on the two-degree-offreedom spring balancing mechanism. These springs support the pivoting of its lampshade and arms while maintaining overall balance (French, M. J., & Widden, M. B., 2000). This feature made them beneficial to surgeons and navigators of world war II military aircraft.

Tiffany lamps, a status symbol in households during the Art Nouveau period, meant for impressing one’s social peers, have become an expensive collector’s item in today’s time (Raizman, D. and Gorman, C., 2007) (My Modern Met, 2022). Whereas the Anglepoise lamp still proves to be a relevant design in use. Immortalised by Pixar animation company as their mascot in 1986, the Angelpoise has become a culturally recognized symbol (Icon, 2020).

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French, M. J., & Widden, M. B. (2000). The spring-and-lever balancing mechanism, George Carwardine and the Anglepoise lamp. Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part C: Journal of Mechanical Engineering Science, 214(3), 507–508.

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Icon. (2020, May 5). A short history of Anglepoise. https://www.iconeye.

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Langworthy, H. (2012). The Anglepoise: a history. Twelve twenty seven. https:// twelvetwentyseven.wordpress.com/ history/

Matranga, V. (2005). Industrial art and design. Encyclopaedia of Chicago. http://www.encyclopedia. chicagohistory.org/pages/637.html

Raizman, D. and Gorman, C. (Eds.). (2007). Objects, audiences and literatures: Alternative narratives in the history of design. Cambridge Scholars.

Richman-Abdou, K. (2018, November 16). Tiffany lamps: The illuminating history of the iconic stained glass fixtures. My Modern Met. https://mymodernmet.com/ louis-comfort-tiffany-lamps/

Taylor, K. (2007, February 13). Tiffany’s secret is over. The New York Sun. https://www.nysun.com/ arts/tiffanys-secret-is-over/48495/

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The Neustadt. (2022). Tiffany’s lamps: lighting luxury. https:// www.theneustadt.org/exhibitions/ neustadt-gallery To conclude, the study provides an interesting overview of two iconic lamps that could not be more different from each other, and their use and relevance in today’s modern world considering the two different time periods they belonged to.