Curtis Jeré Skyscraper Table Lamp

Materials: Square base made of folded stainless steel slats. Green felt glued on the black plastic bottom. Square white plastic lampshade with aluminium rims. Bakelite E27 socket.

Height: 66 cm / 25.98”

Width: 31 x 31 cm / 12.20 x  12.20”

Base: 10 x 10 cm / 3.93 x 3.93”

Electricity: 1 bulb E27, 1 x 75 watt maximum, 110/220 volt.
Any type of light bulb can be used. Not a specific one preferred.

Period: 1960s, 1970s – Mid-Century Modern.

Designer: Curtis Jeré: Curtis Freiler and Jerry Fels.

Manufacturer: Artisan House Inc., Los Angeles, USA. 

Other versions: This Curtis Jeré skyscraper table lamp was also made as a floor lamp. The company produced many skyscraper lamps in this style.

Curtis Jeré is a merge of names of artists Kurt (Curtis) Freiler (1910-2013) and Jerry Fels (1917-2007). The two founders of Artisan House Inc. combined pieces of their own names to create the C. Jeré signature.

Artisan House was founded in 1964. Kurt Freiler, a German immigrant and manufacturing expert met New York artist Jerry Fels in the 1940’s. Kurt and Jerry sold Artisan House in 1972. The company still produces metal sculptures including reintroduction’s of popular mid-century designs.

This table lamp is often wrongly attributed to French designers Michel Boyer, François Monnet, Patrice Maffei, Joelle Ferlande or Maria Pergay from Uginox/Kappa. Sometimes you find it as a lamp made by Oxar, another French company.

They all worked with stainless steel but the comparison stops there. It was a popular material at that period. Sometimes you find this lamp as a design by Gaetano Sciolari, Goffredo Reggiani or even Max Sauze.

Stainless steel

Stainless steel, also known as Inox from the French inoxydable, is a steel alloy of iron, chrome and carbon.