Ceiling Fixture for Cranbrook House East Wing

Edward F. Caldwell & Co. was one of America’s most prominent lighting and furnishing firms in the early twentieth century. They played a leading role in the transition from designing lights for gas, oil, or candle flames to electricity. For their clientele, which included many of the wealthiest individuals and institutions in America, they offered an extensive catalog of thousands of designs for chandeliers, wall sconces, table, and floor lamps, in styles ranging from medieval revival to the cutting edge of Art Deco modernism.

George Booth contracted with Caldwell & Co. in 1908 to supply the vast majority of the lighting fixtures and free-standing lamps for his new home, Cranbrook House – wired for electricity during the building process, in anticipation of access to power not then available in Bloomfield Hills. When Cranbrook House was extended between 1917 and 1920, George Booth returned to Caldwell & Co. for the necessary fixtures. In 1908 and later, the Booths also purchased furniture and decorative art items from the firm’s extensive stock of historical revival furnishings.

This light fixture was originally one of many identical ceiling lights installed thoughout the staff wing of Cranbrook House in 1920; the others were replaced over the intervening decades. Its smooth circular shade and simple bronze base lent a modern air to the utilitarian spaces of the east wing. However, the base was enameled in a dark green tone, giving it the appearance of patination through age, preserving the antiquated ambiance that pervades the entire house, from the staff quarters to the ornate public rooms.

Mariam Hale
2023-2025 Collections Fellow
Cranbrook Center for Collections and Research
July 2024