The local Goodwill and Salvation Army Stores

Since I am getting ready to move, I have been making a couple of trips a week to Goodwill to get rid of 'Stuff' we have collected over the past 4 years and will never use again. I am also dumping old chairs. side tables, rugs and 'clutter' I picked up that worked great in our 'County Rustic, Americana' design motif but will never fly in our new MCM home. At the Goodwill, after dropping off my load of donations I have taken to walking through the store identifying anything that looks Mid-Century Modern. It has been an education unto itself and today I found a lamp that has a very mid-century feel to it. No markings that I can find but quality walnut and brass indicates it was built with purpose and so I took it home !! Before I left I grabbed a large tan colored drum shade and together spent $7.49
out the door

Walnut and Brass Floor Lamp

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Turns out these mid century modern floor lamps have built in tables and designers made them of all kinds of different materials. This one has a base of solid wood covered with a curved brass plate and a thin veneer topped side table. Great for small spaces and accents, these floor lamps have a cool look and dual function and after a little 'Mothers Chrome Polish' and Restore-a-Finish it is ready to go next to the entry landing in our new home.

Many designers created this style of lamp including Gordon & Jane Martz and I think with this design the intent was to provide light and a chic place to set a cocktail, a small picture, or more likely a place to set your ashtray. Gordon and Jane Martz were another married team of designers from the mid-century. Modernism from the Heartland explains when they graduated from university in 1951, they began their married life by moving to Jane's home, Veedersburg, Indiana and took over Marshall Studios, a lamp company founded in 1922 by Jane's grandmother.

Brass Plated Bottom