Gosh, Majestic lamps are the most stylish 50’s lamps I have ever seen! They give you that glamour feeling, with it’s warm shining glow and combination of wood and steel. Browsing through the internet it looks like every retro house in the U.S. does have a Majestic lamp. Or is that only the fanatics share their homes and fantastic interior with us out on the web?
Look at these beauties
From the great midcentury blog Wegwoodtulsa
The famous Majestic Z lamp. Was for sale on NCModern, is sold allready (for only $550,-!!)
Another Majestic Z
What about the company that made them?
Majestic Lamps were made by the Majestic Lamp Company was formed out of two other compagnies, the Grisby-Grunow Company of New York City and The Majestic Radio Company of Elgin, Illinois.
Part of this merger entailed Grisby to sale his sole ownership of Columbia records to Sony, the first Japanese company to market in America after the war. Sony still owns the Columbia label today. According to the United States goverments desire to control monopolies, no individual could own a manufacturing company of phonograph player , and produce or record the disc which it played.
Also, at the same time of the merger, Mr. Grunow sold out his 50% stake in the Grisby-Grunow Company to the infamous Mayor of New York James Walker. James Walker was President of The Majestic Lamp and Radio Company until 1948. After the change in laws, RCA & the transistor radio nearly put Majestic Lamp & Radio our of business.
With intern president William “Sloppy” Garwood at the helm, The Majestic Lamp and Radio Company was reduced to making only their profitable lamps, and by the early 1950’s was known only as The Majestic Lamp Company.
These beautiful lamps were were manufactured sold and marketed under the Majestic Lamp company name until 1963 when the company was sold to Westinghouse.
Clifford Westinghouse made the lamps much more cheaply, with the thought that if he could get a Majestic Westinghouse Lamp into every house of America, then he would make millions on the replacement light bulbs.
And just fun to know: Mr Sloppy Garwood was one of the first Americans to come out of the closet regarding his sexual preference, and in his later years spent his life savings promoting the first gay movement marches.
And if your lampshade is damaged or broken, what then?
Visit Moonshine Lamp and Shade, they offer shade refurbishing for original 1940s, 1950s, 1960s vintage lampshades and specialize in replacement shades for Majestic Z lamps. All shade styles can be modified to fit the specific needs of the customer by increasing or decreasing diameter and/or height or by creating a completely new style.
Lighten up your life!
