Brooklyn Museum: Decorative Arts: Desk Lamp, Model #114

Desk Lamp, Model #114

Designer: Walter Dorwin Teague, American, 1883-1960
Manufacturer: Polaroid Corporation
Medium: Aluminum, plastic
Place Manufactured: Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
Dates: ca. 1939
Dimensions: 12 3/4 x 11 1/2 x 10 1/4 in. (32.4 x 29.2 x 26 cm)
Markings: no marks
Signature: no signature
Inscriptions: no inscriptions
Collections: Decorative Arts
Museum Location: This item is on view in Luce Visible Storage and Study Center, 5th floor
Accession Number: 82.168.1
Credit Line: H. Randolph Lever Fund
Image: Overall, 82.168.1_bw.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph

Catalogue Description: Desk lamp, Model #114. Low, hemispherical brown plastic (bakelite?) base with a cylindrical metal switch at the front and the lamp stem at the rear; wire cord attached through bottom rear of base. Stem is an aluminum cone tapering out from bottom, rising at a slight angle; four vertical slots at bottom rear of stem. Top of the stem is an irregularly shaped half circle punctured with circles and four screws with plastic heads that attach to the shade. Brown plastic shade in general shape of three-dimensional isosceles trapezoid with basically straight sides but rounded on all edges, and widest at the front. Shade slopes downward on top toward the front. Center of shade is slightly raised with four slots for ventilation along the rear and two on each side of the raised section. Interior of shade is spray-painted white and has two metal reflectors, curved one at back and flat one on inside top; underside covered with a thin, soft piece of green or brown plastic, held in place by a wire frame (intended to produce glare-free light). CONDITION: Wear to all surfaces but overall condition good. Lamp was rewired and is in working condition. Most significant damage is a small triangular chip to rear of shade, about 2 14" long. Aluminum surface of the stem apparently covered with some type of protective lacquer which has worn off in many spots and shows discoloration; there is also a stain near top. Parts of the stem surface are crazed, generally dirty. The top with various minor scuffs and scratches. Thin hair-line crack on back of shade, running diagonally from left-most vent to lower leaf of rear, about one inch long.

Collections: Decorative Arts: Desk Lamp, Model #114