What is the story on these 2 companies guys?
They seem identical to me, which came first and which is the copycat?
I always see Stemlite being attributed to Bill Curry as the designer so I have always assumed that Stemlite was the original design of this type of lamp because why would a company copy another company and put a designer's name on it?
It also seem to me like Laurel lamps are more abundant and maybe a bit more sough-after? So is Laurel lamp the original and if so who designed it?
Anyone knows?
Thanks!
Hi - is it the mushroom...
Hi - is it the mushroom shade lamp style you're interested in?
Design Line is the company that had the Stemlite line of lamps and was from El Segundo, California. Laurel is from New Jersey. Both companies had lots of styles including the iconic mushroom lamp.
I am not sure which of the two companies first came up with the mushroom shape, but the catalogue of the Pasadena Art Museum California Design 9 show from 1965 shows the Bill Curry Stemlite mushroom lamp, plus some other lamp styles he did. (He also designed cookware and other things for Design Line, plus a crazy multi-colored plastic cattail wall divider!)
So if the Stemlite mushroom lamp was in this show in the first half of 1965, then I'm pretty sure it had to be produced at the very latest in 1964 sometime. I don't know when Laurel had theirs in production.
BTW, they are both great lamps but I prefer the Stemlite mushroom design - the shade is a little flatter and cooler looking, IMHO.
Hope that helps!
Yes the Mushroom lamps!
Sorry I forgot to mention that it's the mushroom lamps I was inquiring about. Thanks so much for your info! I wonder why it's hard to track down info for Laurel lamp company though. It seems to me that the 2 designs are almost identical and if Stemlite came out with theirs designed by Bill Curry in 1964, as you mentioned, then Laurel probably came out with their version after? Maybe that's why we don't ever see a designer name associated with the laurel mushroom lamp....because it's too similar to the Stemlite version which has a designer name attached to it.
stemlite mushroom table lamp
our *(#$&()@$ movers smashed the shade of my beautiful white stemlite table lamp. now i need to (1) find a value to claim it from the moving company, and (2) find a new shade and/or whole lamp. i've googled in vain, only finding old auction listings. does anyone know where to find one of these? would appreciate any help.
ps. it's (it was!) :..( similar to the ones in the link but with a white base.
http://www.wright20.com/auctions/view_search/RJN/F569/403/LA/stemlite/AHP9
I've done a bit of research...
I've done a bit of research into the "mushroom" lamp origin. The first patent I could find for such a lamp was Bill Curry's, patent D199141, filed in March 1963. Also, the abstract for this patent mentions an abandoned patent for a similar lamp, filed in November 1961.
As for Laurel's versions, the earliest mention of a mushroom-type lamp I have been able to find is in a magazine ad from 1973. I'm still digging but so far, no luck on anything earlier. I expect to find earlier references but I *really* doubt a Laurel version would have existed before 1961.
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