{"product_id":"vintage-cast-iron-candlestick-table-lamp-checked-shade-c-1950-1975","title":"Vintage Cast Iron Candlestick Table Lamp, Checked Shade, c. 1950–1975","description":"\u003ch3\u003eThe Piece\u003c\/h3\u003e\n  \u003cp\u003eA slim candlestick lamp on a cast iron tripod, carrying a small woven shade in black and orange check.\u003c\/p\u003e\n  \u003cp\u003eThe base is the good part. Three legs sweep out from a turned collar in a low arc and finish in flat oval pad feet, cast in one piece with the socket that takes the stem. The iron is left dark and matte, with the faintly granular surface a sand casting leaves.\u003c\/p\u003e\n  \u003cp\u003eOut of it rises a slender dark stem, interrupted partway up by a flat disc in the position of a candle drip-pan, and finishing in a cylindrical sleeve. Both the disc and the sleeve are a pale tan composition with a fine speckled grain running through them.\u003c\/p\u003e\n  \u003cp\u003eThe shade is a small coolie in a coarse open weave — orange and tan ground crossed with black in a check — bound top and bottom with a black and cream gingham tape, and carried on a wire clip that grips the bulb rather than a harp.\u003c\/p\u003e\n  \u003cp\u003eLit, the weave does something a solid shade cannot: the open ground glows orange and the black check reads as a grid of dark marks across it.\u003c\/p\u003e\n  \u003cp\u003eThe cord is a translucent green flat twin, with an inline rocker switch and a translucent yellow moulded plug carrying a blue Underwriters Laboratories label.\u003c\/p\u003e\n  \u003ch3\u003eHistory \u0026amp; Provenance\u003c\/h3\u003e\n  \u003cp\u003eThe lamp and its cord are two different dates, and it is worth separating them.\u003c\/p\u003e\n  \u003cp\u003eThe cord set is a later replacement, and it says so itself. The inline switch is stamped FOR #18 SPT-1 ONLY, and SPT-1 is a modern cord designation rather than a mid-century one. The plug is translucent moulded plastic with a blue UL label reading PORTABLE LAMP, JEBF 06265 — JEBF is a UL category code, and quoting the category code on the label is a later convention than the printed paper bands and issue numbers that came before it. A translucent green cord is a decorator choice, not a period one.\u003c\/p\u003e\n  \u003cp\u003eNone of that dates the lamp. It dates the day somebody rewired it, which is the ordinary history of any lamp that has stayed in service.\u003c\/p\u003e\n  \u003cp\u003eThe lamp itself is older than its cord, and its own parts carry that. The base is cast iron, not spun brass or pot metal — a single sand casting with the tripod, collar and stem socket formed together, and the granular surface that leaves. Cast iron is heavy, cheap and unglamorous, and it belongs to the era when a small lamp was expected to be a piece of hardware rather than a piece of jewellery.\u003c\/p\u003e\n  \u003cp\u003eAbove it, the drip-pan disc and the candle sleeve are composition rather than brass or plastic — a pale, speckled, slightly compressible material. The candlestick lamp is a form that exists to disguise electricity as candlelight, and the sleeve is the part doing the disguising.\u003c\/p\u003e\n  \u003cp\u003eThe shade is woven textile on a wire clip frame. Clip shades of this size belong to small candle and chandelier lamps, and a coarse hand-look weave in orange, tan and black with a gingham binding is the domestic decorating palette of the middle decades rather than of the Victorian parlour the form imitates.\u003c\/p\u003e\n  \u003cp\u003eNothing on the lamp carries a maker’s name, stamp or label. On the evidence of the cast-iron tripod, the composition sleeve and the woven clip shade, it is offered as c. 1950–1975, unattributed, on a later cord.\u003c\/p\u003e\n  \u003ch3\u003eProduct Details\u003c\/h3\u003e\n  \u003ctable\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\n  \u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eObject\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eCandlestick table lamp on a cast iron tripod base, with a woven clip-on shade\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n  \u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eBase\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eCast iron tripod, three arched legs on flat oval pad feet, cast in one with the collar and stem socket; dark matte finish\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n  \u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eStem\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eSlim dark tube with a composition drip-pan disc and a composition candle sleeve above\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n  \u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eShade\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eSmall coolie in a coarse open weave, orange and tan checked with black, bound top and bottom in black and cream gingham tape, on a wire bulb clip\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n  \u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eDimensions\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eApproximately 15 in tall overall; shade approximately 6 in across the bottom; tripod approximately 6 in across\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n  \u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eWiring\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eLater replacement cord set: translucent green flat cord, inline rocker switch marked 6A 125V and FOR #18 SPT-1 ONLY, and a translucent moulded plug with a blue UL PORTABLE LAMP label, JEBF 06265\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n  \u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eMarks\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eNone on the lamp. No maker’s name, stamp or label on the base, stem or shade. The only marks are on the replacement cord set. Offered unattributed.\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n  \u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eEra\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003ec. 1950–1975 for the lamp, on the cast-iron tripod base, the composition drip-pan and candle sleeve, and the woven clip shade. The cord set is later and does not date the lamp: its inline switch is marked for SPT-1 cord and its plug label quotes a UL category code, both later conventions than the printed paper bands that preceded them.\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n  \u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eCondition\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eWorking and display-ready; photographed lit. The cast iron base is sound with no cracks or losses, standing firm and level on all three pad feet, with light surface rubbing and a small pale mark on the stem. The composition disc and sleeve are intact, with edge wear and light soiling. The woven shade is complete with no holes, tears or splits; the weave is even, the colours are strong, and the gingham binding is secure top and bottom with light fraying. The wire clip grips firmly. The cord, switch and plug are a later replacement set and are sound. Condition Guaranteed.\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n  \u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eAvailability\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eOne of a Kind — 1 Available\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n  \u003c\/tbody\u003e\u003c\/table\u003e\n  \u003ch3\u003eWhy It Belongs in Your Home\u003c\/h3\u003e\n  \u003cp\u003eSmall lamps are harder to find than big ones, and this is a genuinely small lamp that still looks like something.\u003c\/p\u003e\n  \u003cp\u003eAt fifteen inches on a six-inch tripod it fits where a table lamp will not: a crowded nightstand, a bookshelf, a windowsill, a hall table already holding other things, a desk corner. The tripod is the reason — three feet take up less surface than a solid base and sit flat on an uneven shelf.\u003c\/p\u003e\n  \u003cp\u003eThe shade is what people will notice. A loose weave over a bulb is the warmest light there is, because the ground glows and the check throws a fine dark grid across it. Solid paper shades give you a cone of light; this gives you a lit object.\u003c\/p\u003e\n  \u003cp\u003eThe colours do a specific job. Orange, black and tan against dark iron is an autumn palette, and it belongs with wood, leather, stoneware, old books and dark paint. It will not disappear into a neutral room.\u003c\/p\u003e\n  \u003cp\u003eAnd cast iron is the right material for a lamp this narrow. It is heavy enough that a tug on the cord tips nothing over, which is more than can be said for the pressed-tin bases these usually come on.\u003c\/p\u003e\n  \u003cp\u003eThe inline switch is a practical detail worth having. The lamp is operated from the cord rather than by reaching under a hot shade, which matters on a nightstand in the dark.\u003c\/p\u003e\n  \u003cp\u003eA note on use. Fit a small bulb — 40 watts or less, or an LED equivalent — and a candelabra shape if the socket takes one. The shade clips to the bulb itself, so a large bulb will not sit correctly and the fabric will run hot.\u003c\/p\u003e\n  \u003cp\u003eKeep the shade dry and dust it with a soft brush rather than a cloth, which catches in an open weave and pulls threads.\u003c\/p\u003e\n  \u003cp\u003eDo not soak or wash the composition sleeve or the drip-pan disc; a barely damp cloth and an immediate dry is all they want.\u003c\/p\u003e\n  \u003cp\u003eAnd check the clip is seated square on the bulb before you let go of the shade, which is the one way these get dropped.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Viridian Eclection","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48062215684201,"sku":"VE-1625","price":175.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0651\/0093\/9369\/files\/4A35A176-723E-4A1A-9035-3A1729759AAD.jpg?v=1789469003","url":"https:\/\/viridianeclection.com\/products\/vintage-cast-iron-candlestick-table-lamp-checked-shade-c-1950-1975","provider":"Viridian Eclection","version":"1.0","type":"link"}