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Karl Springer Swing Arm Wall Lamps, Polished Brass

Creator: Karl Springer
Offered by: Solo Modern

Description
Karl Springer Swing Arm Wall Lamps, Polished Brass. Pair of heavy swing arm wall lamps with super quality build and Springer's signature coffin pull chains. Meticulously restored by Empire Metal of Astoria. Lamps have been re-plated in lacquered polished brass, rewired with new sockets and plugs. For installation, we fabricated new brass cleat plates with radius corners and milled edges. Sold with the silk hardback hand-rolled shades pictured in the listing, brand new from Oriental Lampshade on Manhattan. Shades measure: 9.25 inches H x 9.5 inches top across x 12 inches across the bottom. When wall lamps are fully extended, they measure 24 inches.

Sold As: Set of 2
Power Source: Plug-in
Voltage: 110-150v
Lampshade: Included

Karl Springer
The Berlin-born, New York–based designer Karl Springer brought a chic, high-fashion sensibility to furnishings. During his heyday in the 1970s, Springer’s work was a favorite of the glamour set, who enjoyed the novelty of pieces finished in rich and striking materials that ranged from exotic hides and skins to lacquer and chromed metal. In a sense, Springer was a pre-postmodernist. Much as the dull, safe, corporate sameness of late 20th-century modernism prompted Ettore Sottsass, Michael Graves and others to explore new and provocative structures and materials in design and architecture, so, too, was Springer driven to enliven his creations with fresh and alluring energy and sleekness.

Springer came to New York in the late 1950s and found work arranging window displays at the department store Lord & Taylor. He had studied bookbinding in Germany, and, using his meticulous skills, he began crafting desk accessories wrapped in leather as a sideline. These pieces were sold in luxury stores like Bergdorf Goodman, and drew a sophisticated clientele that included the Duchess of Windsor. By 1965, he had established his own Manhattan atelier, and at his death he had showrooms as far afield as Los Angeles, Tokyo and Munich.

The chairs, tables, credenzas and other furniture forms Springer created are generally simple, but substantial, and often have robust, rounded lines. The appeal of his work lies in Springer's insistence on exacting construction and, above all, his eye for unusual materials and finishes. He employed Lucite, brass, and gunmetal along with chromed and polished steel, and revived exquisite finishes rarely seen since the days of Art Deco masters such as Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann and Jean-Michel Frank: shagreen (a type of sharkskin), python, goatskin, bone, horn, and lacquered parchment, as well as fabrics that include batik prints. Made of such materials, Springer’s work is by its very nature flamboyant and eye-catching: a suite of pieces will astonish, and an artfully placed side table in exotic hide will add a surprising spark.

More Information

Documentation:	Documented elsewhere (similar item)
Origin:	United States
Period:	1980-1999
Materials:	Brass, Lacquered, Polished
Condition:	Good. Rewired: Meticulously restored - re-plated in lacquered polished brass and rewired with new sockets. Refinished.
Creation Date:	1982
Number of Pieces:	2-3
Styles / Movements:	Modern, Mid Century
Incollect Reference #:	620196