1000 Lights (Bibliotheca Universalis)

by Charlotte Fiell (Editor), Peter Fiell (Editor)

Designed to be a companion to our classic title 1000 Chairs, this edition contains an awesome selection of over 1000 lights. Presented chronologically by decade are the 20th century’s most interesting electric lights, from Tiffany’s beautiful leaded-glass shades to completely outrageous designs from the late 1960s and 1970s to the latest high-tech LED lamps. All major styles are represented here—Arts & Crafts, Art Nouveau, Art Deco, Modern Movement, De Stijl, Postwar, Pop, Radical, Postmodern, and Contemporary—in 640 pages of truly illuminated works. This definitive reference work is a must-have for collectors and design fans. About the series Bibliotheca Universalis — Compact cultural companions celebrating the eclectic TASCHEN universe!

Genres: Design, Art

635 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

Charlotte Fiell is a leading authority on the history, theory and criticism of design and, to date, has written 60 books on the subject.

Charlotte initially studied at Heatherley School of Fine Art in London and then later at the British Institute in Florence. She subsequently took a BA(Hons) degree in the History of Drawing and Printmaking with Material Science at Camberwell College of Arts (UAL), London. Following on from this, she trained at Sotheby’s Institute of Art in London.

Reviews

[Geoffrey Hagberg · Rating 3 out of 5]

What is it: the thrilling sequel to 1000 Chairs.

Why I like it: I've learned that I've lit my living room with a combination of one swing arm floor lamp derived from Walter von Nessen's 1927 (but timeless) design combined with one tripod-based table lamp reminiscent of several designs from the 50s. I learned that in Stranger Things season 4, episode 4 (recently released as of the writing of this review), Steve Harrington (acted by Joe Keery) wields what appears to be a floor lamp derivative of Christian Dell's late 20s rondella design as though it's a baseball bat. I've learned that the authors of this collection absolutely adore the "forward-looking," "playful," "totemic," and "quasi-mystical" "metaphors for existence" of the "thinker," "philosopher," "agent provocateur," and "shaman" Ettore Sottsass, who has apparently earned his several dozen inclusions in this collection--inclusions that I've also learned I do not so adore.

In short, like the first of this book series, this book has changed me.

You might also like: the documentary Objectified or the Netflix documentary series Abstract (which includes an episode about a lighting designer).

[Max · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

[sofi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perfecto para repasar la historia de la iluminación. Es muy friki, pero mola. JEJE.

[Tyrran · Rating 5 out of 5]

I used this more as a reference guide rather than as a book that I read from page to page.