Birmingham Guild of Handicraft No. 7, electric reading lamp in hammered brass, Birmingham, England circa 1898. An iconic electric lamp from the earliest days of the Arts & Crafts Movement in England, an example of this lamp was gifted from Arthur Dixon (founder & designer at the Guild) to C.R. Ashbee on his wedding day in 1895, this lamp is now in the V&A Museum. As was typical of most firms, there are slight variations & custom order pieces that surface like this. The armature projects horizontally from the shaft before angling upwards, yet the lamp is the same size as all known examples. This example was sourced from Canada and was likely an “export” from the Guild who targeted the overseas market, the extra space was perhaps needed to accommodate the North American lighting parts. Several experts on Guild work have reviewed this example and believe it has no alterations and is in fact a rare variant of the No. 7 lamp. The lamp is in exceptional original condition with no replaced parts, the original lacquer has worn in areas as is typical of these lamps, please review photos for condition. The lamp has been rewired with spiral cloth cord and a period bakelite plug for the North American market. Measures 21.5” tall, reflector is 13” wide and base is 11” wide, all in line with other period examples and catalog. SOLD
