While our homes and lighting styles have changed over time, the basic idea hasn't.
Around here, we often toss around the names of lighting styles as if everyone in the world were as fascinated with old fixtures as we are… forgetting that the difference between Classical Revival and Colonial Revival isn’t a matter of daily concern to most folks. (I know, shocking isn’t it?)
To remedy this state of affairs, I thought it might be fun to take a closer look at some American period lighting styles and give them a little context. So this is your introduction to a series of posts called A Century of Lighting: 1870-1970.
There are many ways to slice and dice lighting history. To keep it simple we'll use these six basic style groups. Rarely were fewer than three major trends competing for market favor between 1900 and World War II.
For consistency’s sake, we’ll explore each of our six style groups using the same format, drawing upon authentic period images from our extensive research archive.
Typical Period Houses & Interiors
Lighting Examples from Sears & Montgomery Ward Catalogues
Lighting Examples from Higher-End Lighting Catalogues
Specific Sub-styles within each Style
Some Rejuvenation Reproductions
For those who like the smell of old paper, our research archive of nearly 3,000 period books and trade catalogues is like dying and going to old-house heaven - or at least to its library.
So that’s what’s coming in the days ahead about the days past – stay tuned for Victorian, our first installment.
Often lumped together into one "fancy" style, you might be surprised at 30 years of changing Victorian trends...
[...] 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… [...]