page_title: Edward F. Caldwell & Co.
section_title: Edward F. Caldwell (1851-1914)
hierarchical_section_title: Edward F. Caldwell & Co. / Edward F. Caldwell (1851-1914)
caption_attribution_description: English: Photograph taken by Caldwell &amp; Co. The piece was produced for Andrew Carnegie (1835-1919), which was located within his Manhattan home. Each object photographed was cataloged and was provided an account number. This chandelier account number is C010736.
context_page_description: Edward F. Caldwell & Co., of New York City, was one of the premier designers and manufacturers of electric light fixtures and decorative metalwork from the late 19th to the mid-20th centuries. Founded in 1895 by Edward F. Caldwell and Victor F. von Lossberg, the firm left a legacy of custom designed and finely-made, metal gates, lanterns, chandeliers, ceiling and wall fixtures, floor and table lamps, and other decorative objects that can be found today in many metropolitan area churches, public buildings, offices, clubs, and residences including, the White House, St. Patrick's Cathedral, New York, New York Public Library, and Rockefeller Center.
context_section_description: Edward F. Caldwell, a portrait painter originally from Waterville, New York, became part of an active community of designers in New York City during the early 1880s.  By the end of that decade and into the 1890s, Caldwell worked for, and later became chief designer and vice president of, the Archer & Pancoast Manufacturing Company of New York, top designers of gas lighting fixtures. At this time, due to Thomas Edison's advances in developing the electric light bulb, Archer & Pancoast began manufacturing fixtures using this new technology. 
  Caldwell faced the challenge of mastering an understanding of electric light and adapting electric fixtures to traditional ornamental esthetics that were acceptable to the late 19th century American public. While at Archer & Pancoast, Caldwell oversaw three major commissions for McKim, Mead, and White, as well as commissions for the New York State Building at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition (Chicago), The [Metropolitan Club] of New York City, and the Boston Public Library.  
  Through these projects, Caldwell became a friend of Stanford White (1853–1906), a young architect who saw the importance of electric illumination for designing future interiors and buildings. He understood that technological advances of slender tubing, small electric bulbs, concealed wiring, modern switch units, and low voltage current linked to small sockets would allow fixtures to take new and diverse forms, sharing decorative as well as utilitarian functions. White encouraged Caldwell to focus solely on designing electric light fixtures.
   
  In 1895, Caldwell established the firm Edward F. Caldwell & Co., Inc. of New York with Victor von Lossberg at 31 East 17th Street. Von Lossberg, a designer and draftsman Caldwell had worked with at Archer & Pancoast, was a native of Latvia who was raised in Russia and studied design in Germany. Caldwell and von Lossberg brought skilled artisans from Europe to New York to work for the firm. They frequently traveled to Europe studying and importing historic objects for use as inspiration in the production of their electric light fixtures. 
  In 1901, they established their own foundry at 36-40 West 15th Street, along with their showrooms and offices. They quickly became known for producing lighting fixtures and metalwork objects in bronze, iron, silver, brass, and copper.  The firm attracted commissions from some of the most prominent architects of the period including McKim, Mead & White, Carrere & Hastings, Cram, Goodhue & Ferguson, and Cass Gilbert. 
  Caldwell & Co. produced a wide variety of objects based on historic styles since many of their wealthy and established clientele preferred traditional designs. They showed clients photographs and actual historic examples of French, Italian and English forms that could be adapted as electric light fixtures and that would fit esthetically into traditional or period interiors.  
  The firm also worked closely with the architects, interior decorators and other subcontractors to coordinate the aesthetic unity of a project, using their extensive photo archive to inspire new designs. A watercolor or colored pencil presentation drawing was then created for review by designer and client before the piece was put into production. After production, pieces were often photographed to be added to the company's extensive photo archive. The success of the Caldwell firm was due to extensive variety of historic patterns at hand, which could be effectively incorporated into electric fixtures to enhance the beauty of an interior.  
  Under Von Lossberg, the company created more original designs rather than strictly duplicating antiques that had been a standard for the firm previously. Lighting and desk accessories now contained intricate gilding and vitreous enamel work. In the 1920s, the firm also explored more contemporary designs such as Art Deco styles for lights at Radio City Music Hall and the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel.  
  With a staff that numbered more than 1,000 in the early decades of the 20th century, they also had the ability to take on large 
caption: chandelier
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