Product Reports
Shine Bright
Illumination aside, period lighting fixtures add authenticity to the scenes they spotlight, creating just the right atmosphere to make the room or the building and its décor and architectural elements shine.
Today, a score of makers is recreating them, referencing and reigniting history in every sconce, chandelier, and lantern.
Ball and Ball
Ball and Ball, which has an extensive design library, has been making reproductions of antique lighting for 88 years. The family-owned and -operated company, based in Exton, Pennsylvania, focuses on 18th-century lighting but makes fixtures from many other time periods as well.
Ball and Ball’s designs are culled from its own collection of antique lighting fixtures, a collection of lighting fixture restoration projects from 88 years of experience and a collection of period lighting fixture design artwork that came from a company that was in business from the late 19th century until the 1970s and that produced fixtures for many important landmark projects. In addition, the company has three tractor-trailers full of old lighting parts and casting patterns that were made using old-school traditional materials and methods.
It has produced fixtures for many important landmark buildings, including Independence Hall in Philadelphia, the U.S. Capitol, and the U.S. Supreme Court.
“No one competes with Ball and Ball across all the product lines of historic reproductions that we offer, but what sets us apart is the experience of our craftspeople,” says Bill Ball Jr., whose grandfather established the company in 1932. “Most Ball and Ball craftsmen have been here more than 20 years; some have been doing this for 40 years. My brother and I have been here full time for 42 years. It’s the experiences gained from nearly nine decades of customers trusting us with so many amazing lighting fixture projects that can’t be matched.”
Deep Landing Workshop
Dedicated to the art and craft of custom lighting, Deep Landing Workshop has been illuminating grand homes with its heirloom period-style lighting for six decades. The second-generation family business, based in Chestertown, Maryland, began by specializing in colonial styles but has created historic-style fixtures from a variety of time periods.
The fixtures, typically in copper, lead-coated copper, or brass, “are created for a particular environment,” says company owner John Ramsey. The company’s portfolio is comprised of stylized versions of original colonial fixtures and some original designs that Ramsay says “could have been in the historical record.”
Deep Landing Workshop, which works with architects and designers, has created handmade artisan-crafted custom lighting for a variety of venues, including churches, country clubs, inns, and schools.
“Period-style lighting is the foundation for good design, design that endures,” Ramsey says. “We believe that good design stands on the merits of proportion and form. It is not dependent on crystalline embellishments or shiny brass to distract the mind’s eye. That’s what I like to call the fast food of lighting design; that’s what we don’t do.”
Heritage Metalworks
Using original tools, methods, and finishes, Heritage Metalworks creates historical reproduction lighting by hand in its tin shop, blacksmith shop, and foundry. Established in 2000, the award-winning company, based in Downingtown, Pennsylvania, offers more than 200 iron, brass, copper, and tin designs through its two historically inspired lighting lines, Scofield Lighting and Heritage Traditions Lighting.
Scofield Lighting, which features 120 historically inspired fixtures, focuses on styles from the 17th to the 19th centuries that are copied from museum collections. Heritage Traditions Lighting is a transitional line of recreations, reproductions, and adaptations from various historical periods.
“Each piece in Heritage Traditions is designed not only to be historically recognizable and functional but also made to fit into the design of a home,” says Matt White, the company’s founder and owner. “Great design and execution equal the perfect piece.”
The company’s lighting fixtures illuminate a number of historic homes and museums, including Fair Lane, the Henry Ford estate in Michigan, and Winterthur Museum in Delaware, and it’s a resource for architects and designers whose projects require accurate, authentic, and creative metalwork.
Noting that fixtures are not produced in bulk, White says that “by using ancient practices, we are able to produce strong, durable lighting that’s designed to last. Our designs offer unlimited personalization options.”
Lantern Masters
A lighting manufacturer since 1978 that offers a vast product line of interior and exterior lighting fixtures as well as custom work and collaborations, Lantern Masters specializes in all periods of lighting, from Old World Spanish, Italian, Mediterranean, French, and Moroccan styles to contemporary and modern designs.
“We like to blend Old World styles with cleaner lines, creating a hybrid while still keeping respect to the architecture and aesthetics,” says Sharyn Olesker, vice president of manufacturing and daughter of the company’s founder. “We frequently use brass as the base metal for both interior and exterior fixtures since it is a non-ferrous metal and is great for all types of climates. We also fabricate in iron, copper, and stainless steel. Fixture adornments may include bronze ornamentation, fine European rock crystals, Swarovski crystals, blown glass, and passementerie.”
The designs, often a collaboration with the client, come from a variety of sources, she adds, including antiques or historic inspirations such as Addison Mizner, or from architectural history books like “Casa California.”
Lantern Masters, which is based in Los Angeles, has created lighting for restaurants, shopping centers, theme parks, and hotels in the United States, Canada, and abroad. Public projects include the Sarasota Opera House in Florida and Glenmere Mansion, a historic Gilded Age estate in upstate New York.
“Regardless of the period in history that the lighting represents, I regard it as the finishing touch—‘jewelry’ enhancing both the outside of, and within, the building structure,” Olesker says. “It is functional art and should be inviting and welcoming you.”
McLean Lighting Works
A manufacturer of interior and exterior 18th- and 19th-century reproduction and custom lighting, McLean Lighting Works is a father-and-son business that has been in operation for nearly 40 years. The fixtures, replicated from the antique European and American examples in the company’s collection, are intricately hand-recreated from detailed patterns.
“Every light is handmade in the tradition of years past, using the same techniques and methods with updated tools and equipment,” says Vice President McLean Moore, whose father, Mac Moore, established the company that is based in Greensboro, North Carolina.
The lights, recreated in brass, copper, zinc, and/or tin, are updated with electrical or gas fittings and feature hand-rubbed patina finishes that age and oxidize naturally over time for antique authenticity.
Through the decades, McLean Lighting Works has made fixtures for a variety of clients ranging from the White House to Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida.
The Moores are passionate about period lighting. “It’s a link to the past and the future,” McLean says. “We love a lighting project that allows us to incorporate classic and traditional designs of the past while adding some current details to make a project timeless and bespoke.”
Period Lighting Fixtures
For the last 50 years, Period Lighting Fixtures has been creating handmade reproductions of lanterns, sconces, and chandeliers that date from 1620 to 1850.
The company, which is based in Clarksburg, Massachusetts, offers more than 200 models, which are made to order. Its extensive catalog shows where each original was found and usually includes side-by-side photos of the original and the reproduction for easy comparison.
“We do custom fixtures, both on our own line and from designer- and architect-supplied pieces or photos,” says CEO and owner Chris Burda, adding that the company also repairs and rewires fixtures. “We have done our own research on antique lighting. We also have had relationships with prominent museums, which have allowed us access to their archives.”
The company’s fixtures are in several historic houses and museums, including Old Sturbridge Village and Historic Deerfield, and have had roles in a number of movies, including 2003’s “Cold Mountain,” 1993’s “Hocus Pocus,” and 2002’s “Unfaithful.”
Several celebrities, including Billy Joel and Michael J. Fox, also own Period Lighting Fixtures.
“Our pieces are timeless in their design,” Burda says. “They fit into any décor setting. You don’t need to have a historical building to utilize them.”
