Art Deco and Vintage Chrome Lamps: What to Check Before You Buy

A good vintage chrome lamp has bright, unbroken plating, a firm stand and a head that still holds its angle. Check the plating for blisters and pits, which signal corrosion underneath, dust it with a soft dry cloth rather than polish, and plan to replace the original cord before use.

What did chrome lamps look like in the deco years?

Two lamps at the Metropolitan Museum of Art show how designers used chrome as a finish in its own right. Gilbert Rohde’s desk lamp of 1933 is chrome-plated steel and brass, low and long, with the Met giving its size as 7 1/4 by 2 1/4 by 14 1/8 inches. Donald Deskey’s table lamp of 1927 pairs chrome-plated metal with glass at about 12 inches tall; the art deco table and floor lamp guide covers it alongside torchieres and figural lamps.

Both are in the Met’s John C. Waddell Collection. Both are compact desk and table pieces with clean shapes and very little ornament, where the shine of the metal does the work.

Vintage chrome table and desk lamps

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Why does old chrome plating blister and pit?

Chrome on a lamp is a thin skin over another metal. The Canadian Conservation Institute (CCI) lists iron with chromium, “usually with copper and/or nickel in between,” among the common plated combinations, and warns that “metal platings present special problems and are particularly prone to corrosion.”

Intact chrome holds up well. CCI notes that stable chromium surfaces “often retain their original bright metallic appearance.” Trouble starts where the plating is damaged or defective: CCI says active corrosion “is most often found” there. As the metal underneath corrodes, “the plating usually lifts as the corrosion products of the underlying metal expand.” CCI compares it to “the blistered chrome parts of automobiles.” Pitting follows when the plating is perforated.

So the plating on a listing photo tells you about the metal under it.

Light pitting on the underside of a base is easy to live with. Blistering on the shade or stem, where the eye lands first, is harder to ignore and cannot be polished away.

What should you check on an eyeball or adjustable head?

“Eyeball” is a sellers’ term for a lamp head shaped like a ball that swivels in a ring or socket, so the light can be aimed. Adjustable desk lamps with jointed arms work the same way: the value is in the movement.

Ask whether the head stays where you put it or droops. A loose joint may only need tightening, but a cracked casting or a stripped thread is a repair. Look at where the cord enters the head, too. On a moving head, the cord flexes every time the lamp is aimed, and an original cord there is the first thing to replace.

Mid-century chrome and eyeball lamps

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How should you clean vintage chrome?

Gently, and as little as possible. Museums Galleries Scotland’s metal care advice is to “use a clean, soft cotton cloth or a soft brush when dusting is needed” and to “keep dusting to a minimum to avoid scratching surfaces.” It also says to “never introduce water or use spray cleaners on metal items,” and warns that silver and brass polishes “leave residues that continue to cause problems.”

Handle the lamp with clean cotton gloves if you can. The same guide notes that “skin contact causes uneven finishes and corrosion.” If a lamp mixes chrome with brass parts, the brass lamp cleaning guide covers the brass.

A quick checklist before you buy

1. Plating: bright and smooth, with any pits or blisters shown in close-up.
2. Stand: level, with no wobble at the joints or the base.
3. Head: swivels freely and holds its angle.
4. Shade: glass or metal present and undamaged; ask for its diameter.
5. Mark: any maker’s label or stamp under the base.
6. Cord and wiring: ask whether the cord is original or replaced, and with what parts. An old chrome lamp that has never been rewired should have its cord and socket checked or replaced before you switch it on; the rewiring guide lists the parts. Buy new parts with a safety mark: UL Solutions advises shoppers to “look for UL safety Marks on product packaging, the product itself or within product details when shopping online.”

Later chrome lamps are covered in the mid-century modern lighting guide. Back to the art deco lighting guide.