A Sweet Pair Of Virden Fixtures.

I enjoy learning about my vintage light fixtures. What company made them? During what period? Is the company extant? If not, when did it close? Where was the company located?

A very popular lighting company for decades was the John C. Virden Company.

Virden was Canadian-based, at 19 Curity Avenue, Toronto. They also had a US presence at 6103 Longfellow Avenue in Cleveland, Ohio. You can Google “walk” the latter, and “stand” in front of the massive brick factory. It is now long abandoned, and its countless widows broken. But it wasn’t that long ago that this factory – like countless such factories across America – was teeming with life, and supporting millions of families. This, back when America actually made stuff.

A part of Virden’s popularity was pricing; Virden fixtures were affordable. Although you will never see a Virden with the kind of over-the-top detailing and $$$ materials as normally seen on Lightolier, Lion Electric, and Caldwell, Virden fixtures are nonetheless well made (and a far cry from the Made-in-China stuff seen today).

Today I listed a sweet matching pair from Virden’s Winthrop line. The line was highly popular and I collect all variations of it, including 3- and 5-bulb chandeliers, and sconces.

 

1

Oh…

 

2

…so…

 

4

…sweet!

 

Aren’t the fixtures adorable! And their condition is remarkable, too. The original polychrome finish is near-mint.

 

My online store.

5 Comments

  1. Courtney Vizcarra on June 25, 2017 at 1:40 pm

    Super sweet

  2. Ian Brown on July 7, 2018 at 11:06 am

    My dad was a salesman for Virden Lighting Canada from 1966 to 1979. Not alot of history online about Virden in Toronto.

  3. Teri Matte on April 11, 2020 at 8:37 pm

    I have recently acquired a virden light fixture and was wondering value. It’s in excellent condi6and still works great!

  4. Dwayne G Schultz on April 12, 2020 at 10:20 am

    Lots of luck, but if you don’t mind paying for an online appraisal antiquie lamps.com… I think.

  5. Cat Savage on February 11, 2021 at 6:19 pm

    Ross! I have a table lamp that matches these!!!!

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