The Exhibit

EDWARD F. CALDWELL & CO.

was one of the most important lighting manufacturers in the nation, lauded by critics and tastemakers of the early twentieth century. Founded in 1895 by Edward F. Caldwell and Victor F. von Lossberg, in New York City; at its height in the 1920s, the firm offered clients thousands of objects from which to choose: chandeliers, table lamps, humidors, clocks, boxes and even telephones. Though it retained the words “makers of gas & electric light fixtures” on its letterhead well into the 1930s, the company offered electric lighting almost exclusively since its founding.

Known for classic styling, Caldwell employed the latest technologies to adapt and reproduce light fixtures and decorative items for the modern consumer. To stay competitive, they did not hesitate to apply modern methods like spun metal, the Galvonic process and photo etching when making an item. Their skill at melding technology, craft and design, won Caldwell many awards. Impressed by the firm’s talent at marrying old styles to modern technologies, one critic characterized this ability as “setting the egg on end.”

Working with architects and decorators to create harmonious designs, much of Caldwell’s work was customized for a specific order, but they often reused elements to create something different according to a client’s preference. Most of the company’s clientele preferred a traditional style, but by the late 1920s they offered Art Deco modernism as well.

Caldwell continued to make high quality items through the depression of the 1930s and into the 1950s. Shifts towards modernism, mass production, and poor management in the post war years eventually brought an end of the firm in 1959.