A Century of Lighting Styles – Classical Revival, Part 2

CLASSICAL REVIVAL LIGHTING SUB-STYLES

In Part 1, we had a quick overview of the context for Classical Revival lighting styles. Here in Part 2, we’ll take a look at examples of “sub-styles” within the overall style, and a few pictures of Rejuvenation Classical Revival fixtures.

Note: For all of our period styles and sub-styles, the terms and definitions we use are not comprehensive or academic – they are just groupings we’ve developed based on our own inclinations. We leave plenty of room for other styles, opinions, and interpretations. Feel free to chime in with alternative perspectives or favorites we’ve missed.

CLASSICAL REVIVAL

Artfully balancing classic Greek and Roman motifs with a tastefully restrained revival impulse, titular Classic Revival fixtures feel effortlessly formal and historically rich without being over the top. (c1909, Rejuvenation archives)

BEAUX ARTS

The Beaux Arts style takes its name from Paris’ Ecole de Beaux Arts, the leading academy of architecture in the world where many of Americas top late-19th century architects received their formal training. Often featuring faces, grotesques, cherubs, or other figural themes, Beaux Arts lighting tends to display more freely interpreted combinations of classic motifs – the Classic Revival mash-up style, if you will. (c1909, Rejuvenation archives)

BAROQUE, ROCOCO (and the “LOUIE, LOUIE”s)

Based on the explosively expressive designs of the Baroque and Rococo styles, these fixtures typically feature lots of curves and an abundance of applied ornament in the form of cast or stamped leaves, and are often finished in gilt. A less restrained European trend of the 17th and 18th centuries, this category includes "the Louis styles" –Louis XIV, XV, and XVI – which were remarkably popular around the turn of the century for homeowners who sought to evoke European wealth and sophistication. (c1901, Rejuvenation archives)

FRENCH / ITALIAN RENAISSANCE

Especially between 1900 and 1920, architecture was often inspired by rather strict academic versions of specific historical styles – known as “The Schools of Design.” Fixtures (and coordinating hardware) were produced in a wide number of these specific historical styles, including reproductions of French and Italian Renaissance models that showed a high level of fidelity to precedent – though few folks today can tell the difference. (c1915, Rejuvenation archives)

REJUVENATION FIXTURES

The Caruthers, c1910-1925

The Thomas, c1909-1925

The Alexandra, c1915-1930

The Hudson, c1910-1925

The Imperial, c1915-1930

COMING NEXT…   Colonial Revival 

In the Series:

A Century of Lighting Styles – Introduction
A Century of Lighting Styles – Victorian, Part 1
A Century of Lighting Styles – Victorian, Part 2
A Century of Lighting Styles – Classical Revival, Part 1

A Century of Lighting Styles – Classical Revival, Part 1

Continuing the series:

A Century of Lighting Styles – Introduction
A Century of Lighting Styles – Victorian, Part 1
A Century of Lighting Styles – Victorian, Part 2

Each period style embodies romantic notions of its era. In decor or in architecture, pretty much anything that is based on a European pre-medieval or post-Renaissance historical style can be viewed through the Classical Revival lens. It’s interesting to note that “romance” as a word has its roots in the “Romance languages” – languages that evolved from the Latin of ancient Rome. Our Classical roots run almost inexhaustibly deep…

CLASSICAL REVIVAL
a growing nation seeks to capture an aura of permanence and power

In the late 19th century, architects trained at Paris’ Ecole de Beaux Arts provided Western nations with buildings rooted in Classical Greek, Roman and Renaissance architecture. Gone were the colorful, artful, picturesque, asymmetrical designs of Queen Victoria’s reign, replaced by columns, capitals, coffers, and pediments (introduced in The White City – the great 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago).

As electricity became more commonplace in the early 20th century, Classical Revival lighting evolved from familiar fixture types simply embellished with Classical motifs (such as egg & dart, ribbon & bay, acanthus leaf, and Greek key) to wholly new forms such as multi-pendant showers, large semi-indirect bowl fixtures and elaborate cast exterior wall brackets.

A note: The Classical era has seen numerous and continuous revivals, starting with the Renaissance. The Classical Revival style, which was a late-19th and early-20th century trend, is often confused with the Neoclassical style of the late 1700s and early 1800s – as in Jefferson’s Monticello and Latrobe’s U.S. Capitol. Classical Revival is a bit like the grandchild of Neoclassical.

ARCHITECTURE

Classical Revival homes often feature large columns, substantial balustrades, and heavy pedimented gables. They can be distinguished from their closely related (and more delicately detailed) Colonial Revival cousins by a strong architectural presence and a solid, weighty appearance. (Rejuvenation archives)

INTERIORS

Classical Revival interiors – like the exteriors – are very architectural and frequently include Classical columns, heavy, refined woodwork, and a strong emphasis on substantial moldings. The boldly solid fixtures carry their weight – visually and physically – in balance with the other interior elements. (c1912, Rejuvenation archives)

LIGHTING: Sears & Montgomery Ward

Drawn from Sears and Montgomery Ward catalogs of the 1910s, this array of Classical Revival fixtures gives a good sense of what the average homeowner would have access to – nice stuff. Heavy chain, urns, garlands, bowls and globe shades speak of tradition and convey power. (Rejuvenation archives)

 

 LIGHTING: Higher-End Manufacturers

On the higher end, the forms were quite similar, but the execution of the details went much further in the weight and quality of the castings, the academic exploration of Classical forms, and refinement of the designs and finishes – all to project a formal dignity and authority. (Rejuvenation archives)

 COMING NEXT…   Part 2:  CLASSICAL REVIVAL LIGHTING SUB-STYLES

Alexandra’s Gadroons

Here’s a trivia question – what is a “Gadroon”?

A.  A Dutch chocolate bon bon made with distilled tulip nectar, popular during Tulip Mania in the 1630s

B.  A member of the elite Florentine bodyguards who served the Medici family during the Renaissance

C.  A type of fancy draft horse that is a cross between a Thoroughbred stallion and a Clydesdale mare

D.  A series or band of raised convex segments or mouldings forming an ornamental surface pattern

Well, you ARE reading Rejuvenation’s blog after all, so no doubt you’ve zeroed in on D.

We ourselves were unfamiliar with the term until we reproduced the new shade above for the Alexandra – and as you can see, this shade features not one, but two different patterns of gadroons. Below you'll find a little more historical background on this impressive piece of glass.

We originally found the gadrooned shade in Catalogue 21 of the R. Williamson Company of Chicago, depicted right on the fixture that would become the Alexandra. (1915, Rejuvenation archives)

A little further research revealed that the gadrooned shade was introduced in a series of different sizes in the 1910s by Jefferson Glass Company, of Follansbee, West Virginia, and was marketed as a "Georgian lantern." (1914, Rejuvenation archives)

The gadrooned shade was offered in Moonstone glass, which was the trade name Jefferson used for a semi-translucent white glass that appeared opaque in color while in fact allowing significant diffusion of light from within. This is the glass that would become ubiquitous in the classic "schoolhouse" shades of the 1920s. (1914, Rejuvenation archives)

Besides its beautiful design, elegant curves, and substantial size, our gadrooned shade has one other feature that sets it apart – an over-sized 8" fitter that gives the large shade a very different sense of proportion and fit relative to its fixture. This is scale carefully balanced with visual appeal.

*A Note for Lighting Glass Nerds

In 1910, Jefferson Glass Company was sued by Macbeth-Evans Glass Company over the chemical composition of Moonstone glass, which Macbeth-Evans claimed was the same as their proprietary formula for Alba glass. Alba was the first semi-translucent opal diffusing glass, introduced in 1903 and a highly valuable trade secret. Macbeth-Evans prevailed, and after 1913 Jefferson’s Moonstone glass was altered to a different formula. Interestingly, only one company in the United States still makes blown opal diffusing glass shades today. This is the family-owned factory Rejuvenation partners with, located in the same state as the Jefferson Glass Company’s former headquarters in Follansbee, West Virginia – a state where glass-making experience and tradition extends back for more than a century.

A Century of Lighting Styles: Victorian, Part 2

Victorian Lighting Sub-Styles

In Part 1, we had a quick overview of the context for Victorian lighting styles. Here in Part 2, we’ll take a look at examples of “sub-styles” within the overall style, and a few pictures of Rejuvenation Victorian fixtures.

Note:  For all of our period styles and sub-styles, the terms and definitions we use are not comprehensive or academic – they are just groupings we’ve developed based on our own inclinations. We leave plenty of room for other styles, opinions, and interpretations. Feel free to chime in with alternative perspectives or favorites we’ve missed.

Neo-Grec chandelier c.1874, the Gaslight Collection of Dan & Nancy Mattausch

The Neo-Grec style was the first major lighting trend of the early 1870s following the Civil War, and one of the last to be exclusively gas. Neo-Grec fixtures were usually cast spelter or other zinc-based white metals, and displayed an angular, chunky look with scrolling bas relief surface treatments.

 Eastlake style c.1878, Spencer Library, Univ. of Kansas

During the latter half of the 1870s, the Eastlake style mixed fresh interpretations of Gothic and English medieval elements in more aggressive and abstracted forms. Fixtures were often brass and sometimes highlighted with polychrome enamels. Note that smaller 2-5/8″ gas shadeholders were still in use, prior to the introduction of gas shades with 4″ and 5″ fitters.

Aesthetic/Anglo-Japanese style c.1883, courtesy of Paul Ivazes, Quality Lighting

The first half of the 1880s saw a dramatic and radical shift to highly stylized fixtures in the new Aesthetic or Anglo-Japanese style. Intricate pierced flat castings, often in red brass, featured sunflowers, bamboo, leaves, jewels, and geometric motifs inspired by Japanese art – and beauty for beauty’s sake. These were some of the first fixtures designed for 4″ and 5″ gas shades and the new technology of electric light.

Artistic/Bent Brass style c.1887, the Gaslight Collection of Dan & Nancy Mattausch

Three architectural trends of the latter 1880s heavily influenced lighting: the medieval Romanesque of Henry Hobson Richardson, the Colonial-inspired Shingle Style of McKim, Mead and White, and the exotic appeal of Moorish and Middle Eastern design. The result was lighting with a distinctive hybrid look that has never really acquired a style name. These fixtures relied heavily on the artistic effects of hand-wrought, hand-hammered, and hand-bent brass and iron. Balls, spirals, strapwork, and formed sheet metal replace the fine brass castings of earlier styles. Though easily mistaken for it, this style is not Art Nouveau, which did not appear until after 1900.

Empire style c.1893, Rejuvenation archives

The 1890s saw the rise of a new style that became immensely popular in all the decorative arts: Empire. Typical of the florid fanciness and bright brass that exemplifies “Victorian” for many today, the excesses of Empire helped inspire the reforms of the Arts & Crafts movement. Empire lighting itself was often of exceptional quality, with a return to finely executed and highly detailed castings, often pierced as shown above in the manner distinctive to the style.

Late Victorian style c.1900, Rejuvenation archives

Economic depression in the mid-1890s encouraged a scaling back of expensive ornamentation and a move to simpler forms and processes, which resulted in a style we call Late Victorian. These fixtures still possess the curving lines and multiple arms springing from a central body that characterized most pre-1910 lighting, but feature far less ornamentation and detail. In fact, the examples above are more ornate than most.

Exotic style c.1904, Rejuvenation archives 

Even though tastes were becoming more simple, the public’s love of the exotic remained. And many of the most elaborate lighting fixtures of the entire period – from the 1870s through 1910 – were those in the Exotic style. Primarily inspired by Arabic and Persian design of Moorish Spain, Turkey, and the Middle East (as well as India and the Far East), exotic fixtures were most commonly found in smoking rooms, cozy corners, bars, and theaters. They remain rare and highly sought-after antiques.

Art Nouveau style c.1905, Rejuvenation archives

The growing urge for “modern” reform saw its first appearance in L’Art Nouveau (The New Art) in Paris just before the turn of the century. As the style crossed the Atlantic, American lighting manufacturers produced some fantastic lighting that is exceptionally rare today.

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The following are some of Rejuvenation’s Victorian-era fixtures installed in several different
environments, from period-perfect to eclectic.

  Rhodes, c.1870-1880

Drake, c.1890-1895 

 Macleay Park, c.1890-1905

 South Shore, c1895-1905

 The Marquam Hill, c1895-1905

A Century of Lighting Styles: Victorian, Part 1

Victorian: a style inspired by empire, artistic striving, and industrial expansion

While Queen Victoria ruled from 1837 until her death in 1901, I am using the term “Victorian” to cover lighting styles from just after the Civil War until just after the turn of the century – the period of rapid industrialization and Gilded-Age homebuilding.

During this time, light fixtures tended toward the romantic: graceful multi-arm designs featuring exceptional metalcraft, finely detailed decorative glass shades, and rich gilt, silver-plated, or antiqued finishes. Given that the primary light sources were low-output gas burners and carbon-filament bulbs, fixtures typically had as many sockets or jets as possible. Since most required gas piping or were turned on and off directly at the fixture, they usually hung on stems quite low by today’s standards.

In this article and Part 2, we will walk through some of the elements of Victorian style, as well as sub-styles within the genre. It’s worth noting that each new style was seen as the most advanced and fashionable – even radical – trend of its day… until the novelty wore off and something new came along. This rapid evolution reminds us that there are no “good” or “bad” styles, only those that each of us relate to personally based on our own tastes and values – which can change over time, too!

 Architecture

While older and more exotic homes like Second Empire and Stick Style are certainly eye-catching, many Victorian homes are Queen Anne or less fancy vernacular farmhouse or cottage styles, like above. (Rejuvenation archives)

Interiors

Victorian interiors were colorful and richly textured settings – and it took strong and beautiful lighting designs to hold their own amidst the visual feast. Even the ceilings from which fixtures hung were treated with thoughtful pattern and decoration. (c.1886, Rejuvenation archives)

Lighting: Sears & Montgomery Ward

 Sears and Montgomery Ward catalogues give us a sense of what the average homeowner would have been able to purchase. As lighting in mail-order catalogs is hard to find before the 1890s, this image collects examples mostly from around the turn of the century. Gas fixtures were common, as well as kerosene designs that mimicked them. (Rejuvenation archives)

Lighting: Higher-End Manufacturers

This collection of images from higher-end manufacturers only hints at the variety and richness of designs that were available. Far from being one long period of undifferentiated ornamental excess, lighting trends during the Victorian era changed substantially about every five years. (Rejuvenation archives)

Read Part 2 to learn more about Victorian lighting sub-styles.