Is there anything more mundane in today's household than the lowly light bulb? But can you imagine the time, not so long ago, when the light bulb was the technological wonder of its day?
The light bulb itself was so intriguing, so fascinating, that manufacturers did not put shades on these early fixtures. People wanted to see this new wonderful device.
You often see matching dining room and living room vintage light fixtures with identical designs except that on the living room fixture the bulbs are pointed up and on the dining room fixture the bulbs are pointed down. This addressed two issues: with the bulbs pointed up there is more head room under the fixture, and where the bulbs are pointed down, more light is concentrated directly under the fixture.
These early days of vintage lighting the bulbs also were of smaller wattage than today's light bulb, and much more expensive. 40 watts was a lot of light back then. During the teens and 20s it became the fashion to shield the eye from the glare of the bulb, as the wattage increased. Then something happened in 1929 to reverse this trend and once again bare bulb fixtures returned to prominence. The Great Depression forced manufacturers to cut costs and although the shade represented a very small percentage of the fixtures' overall cost, any avenue to shave a few cents was taken.
The above images, from a 1931 catalog, shows a series of fixtures by Virden of Milwaukee, commonly called "dogshead" due to the stylized animal head motif. Examples of all these antique light fixtures are seen on our website.
Listen to Your Eyes. PB
Listen to Your Eyes. PB
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